Hundreds of people took to the streets of Syria’s rebel-controlled northwest on Friday in a rare protest against jihadist rulers, a week after a man died in their custody as anger intensified.
About half of Idlib province and parts of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia are controlled by the former al-Qaeda affiliate Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The rebel-controlled areas are home to about 3 million people, many of whom have fled other parts of the country controlled or recaptured by the Russian- and Iran-backed government of President Bashar al-Assad.
According to an AFP reporter, dozens of civilians gathered around Idlib’s clock tower and chanted slogans against HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, with one man waving a banner that read “Insights and Free speech is not a crime.”
“We are taking to the streets to say no to injustice, to the policies of HTS, to Abu Mohammad al-Jolani,” said protester Abdul Rahman Talib, 30.
Another protester, Mohammed Assaf, 30, told AFP: “Our protest broke out after the crime came to light: a young man was killed under torture.
“Our demands are clear: overthrow Jolani, free prisoners and end their control over our security.”
On February 23, a rebel fighter died of torture after eight months in HTS custody, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Since taking control of the Idlib region, HTS has established its own security apparatus as well as a civil administration department that collects customs duties at the Turkish border.
Human rights groups and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria have accused HTS of human rights violations, including torture, sexual violence and enforced disappearances.
Protesters also took to the streets of other towns and villages controlled by HTS, including Binnish, Marea, Kili and Atarib.
In the town of Binish in Idlib province, dozens of people chanted “Jolani, we don’t want you.”
Abdulaziz Ali, 54, who wore the Syrian rebel three-star flag around his neck, said he wanted to see HTS’s security agencies held accountable.
“We are hearing about things that happen in prisons – things that the human heart cannot tolerate,” he said.
