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Hayat Tahrir al-Sham behavioral civil-liberties / press-freedom record in Idlib: HRW documented 11 cases of HTS detaining residents for peacefully documenting abuses or protesting its rule (6 tortured), plus the death sentence of journalist Amjad al-Maleh. Documented by Human Rights Watch (28 Jan 2019).
English 
Syria 2019-01-28 Tier 2 — primary or translation
Party: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
Original source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/01/28/syria-arrests-torture-armed-group
Content
Human Rights Watch documented 11 cases in which the group, Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham, detained Idlib residents, apparently because of their peaceful work documenting abuses or protesting the group’s rule. Six of those detained were apparently tortured.
On December 9, citing sources close to Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham, news media reported that journalist Amjad al-Maleh had been sentenced to death for collaborating with enemies, including Israel and the US-led coalition English translation
[Source is in English; this field holds editorial context, not a translation.] Behavioral conduct-axis record of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on civil-liberties / press-freedom / democracy, from the period when HTS governed Idlib through its affiliated "Salvation Government." Human Rights Watch interviewed seven former detainees and relatives of four others; eight were detained between December 2017 and October 2018, and six (including a 16-year-old boy) were tortured. HRW's deputy Middle East director, Lama Fakih, said: "Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham's crackdown on perceived opposition to their rule mirrors some of the same oppressive tactics used by the Syrian government… There is no legitimate excuse for rounding up opponents and arbitrarily detaining and torturing them." Syrian rights groups documented hundreds of additional detentions (at least 184 in the prior three months, per one organization), and the UN Commission of Inquiry has documented dozens of detained activists, journalists and media workers criticizing HTS. HTS has governed all of Syria since December 2024. [Axes: civil-liberties (behavioral), press-freedom, democracy.]
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In-text
(Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, 2019) Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. (2019). Hayat Tahrir al-Sham behavioral civil-liberties / press-freedom record in Idlib: HRW documented 11 cases of HTS detaining residents for peacefully documenting abuses or protesting its rule (6 tortured), plus the death sentence of journalist Amjad al-Maleh. Documented by Human Rights Watch (28 Jan 2019).. hrw.org. Retrieved June 22, 2026, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/01/28/syria-arrests-torture-armed-group
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. 2019. "Hayat Tahrir al-Sham behavioral civil-liberties / press-freedom record in Idlib: HRW documented 11 cases of HTS detaining residents for peacefully documenting abuses or protesting its rule (6 tortured), plus the death sentence of journalist Amjad al-Maleh. Documented by Human Rights Watch (28 Jan 2019).." hrw.org. Accessed June 22, 2026. https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/01/28/syria-arrests-torture-armed-group.
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author = {{Hayat Tahrir al-Sham}},
title = {Hayat Tahrir al-Sham behavioral civil-liberties / press-freedom record in Idlib: HRW documented 11 cases of HTS detaining residents for peacefully documenting abuses or protesting its rule (6 tortured), plus the death sentence of journalist Amjad al-Maleh. Documented by Human Rights Watch (28 Jan 2019).},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-28},
howpublished = {Online; hosted at hrw.org},
url = {https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/01/28/syria-arrests-torture-armed-group},
urldate = {2026-06-22},
note = {Retrieved via Tayyar at https://tarekgara.com/tayyar/documents/dc3786a4-9b17-4c3c-add8-b815e6940360},
} Retrieved via Tayyar: https://tarekgara.com/tayyar/documents/dc3786a4-9b17-4c3c-add8-b815e6940360 on June 22, 2026. Tayyar is a research host for primary sources, not the author of this document.