A/HRC/22/59 In two cases, the bodies bore marks of torture while in the third case, the body was so decomposed it was identified through documents found in clothing. 7. One interviewee stated the intelligence agents had come to her house in Damascus on several occasions, looking for her husband but he had evaded them. After a week her husband failed to return from work and has not been seen since. Fearing rape, she has made inquiries of the police only through intermediaries and reported that the police refused to confirm whether her husband was held by the Government, commenting only that “if he has done nothing wrong, then he’ll be okay.” 8. Another interviewee, whose son was arrested during a house search by Military Security in late October in Damascus, also used intermediaries in an effort to locate the whereabouts of his son. He stated that he did not go to the branch of Military Security himself as he feared that, by making the inquiry, he would also be subject to arrest. This fear — expressed by several interviewees — appears rooted in fact. Another interviewee, this time describing events in a Jabal Al-Zawiya, Idlib governorate, stated that three women were arrested “and taken away in a military vehicle” after having complained about the arrests and subsequent killing of their husbands. 9. In three cases, it was reported that family members — a son, brother and brother-inlaw, respectively — disappeared after passing through army checkpoints in Latakia and Homs. None of the families were informed of their relatives’ whereabouts. In two of those cases, the families have made multiple unsuccessful inquiries. In the third case, the father, who had been arrested, detained and reportedly tortured by Air Force Intelligence in Dara’a in early 2012, was too frightened of further arrest to make inquiries. 10. One child, a 14 year old boy, was arrested immediately following a demonstration in Damascus. His treatment while in detention is detailed in document A/HRC/22/59, annex X. He was released after several months and told investigators that his family had not been informed of the fact of his detention or of his whereabouts. His father had consistently attempted to find him, even having his photograph shown on a local television channel as a “missing person”. 11. In two instances, interviewees reported that their relatives had been abducted by Government affiliated militia, described in interview as Shabbiha, in Latakia and Homs respectively. Their whereabouts of their relatives remain unknown. II. Anti-Government armed groups 12. One interviewee reported information that indicated an anti-Government armed group had perpetrated an enforced disappearance. The arrest and treatment of this interviewee, a former work at Political Intelligence in Aleppo, is detailed in document A/HRC/22/59, annex VIII. This interviewee was held in Hritan for approximately six weeks with 54 men who were predominantly captured soldiers but which also included others who were suspected of being Shabbiha. His family was not informed of his whereabouts. 13. It is likely that families whose relatives have been arrested or abducted by antiGovernment armed groups have remained within Syria. While the commission does conduct interviews through telephone and Skype, contacting families within Syria remains a challenge. 14. Government forces have engaged in enforced disappearance in violations of their international legal obligations. The commission is gravely concerned that a significant number of people are being held outside the protection of the law for extended periods. No information was provided to families who inquired as to their relatives’ whereabouts. GE.13-10627 65