A/HRC/44/61 March, the offices of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent in Idlib and Ariha were occupied by armed individuals. During the incident, personnel of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were allegedly detained and harassed and items owned by the organization were removed and destroyed. In response, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross issued strong condemnations of the interference in humanitarian work.61 The Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham “criminal security branch” also entered Idlib Central Hospital on 29 January and forcibly installed wireless communication equipment on the roof, prompting protests from. hospital staff who stopped work. On the same day, the Syrian American Medical Association and 17 other Syrian NGOs issued a joint statement condemning the act by Hay’at Tahrir alSham,62 which subsequently removed the equipment. In other instances, Hay’at Tahrir alSham requested a share of food packages, cash payments and housing developments that were intended by NGOs for beneficiaries. This resulted in humanitarian organizations reducing their activities or redirecting them to other parts of the country. 92. Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham continued previous patterns of brutally oppressing local populations for expressing dissent in the areas under their control. During demonstrations held by civilians, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham used tear gas and beat and detained some participants. At the end of April, during a demonstration against the opening of a commercial crossing into Government-controlled parts of western Aleppo, one man was reportedly killed and others were injured. 93. As previously documented by the Commission,63 journalists, NGO workers and other civilians were often detained when criticizing activities of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. Some of those detained were held for weeks or months in solitary confinement, in cells measuring 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres. Multiple interviewees reported being subjected to the use of stress positions and electric shocks, and being beaten with pipes, punched and kicked. Due to ongoing fighting and repeated ground and aerial attacks, detainees were frequently moved between locations, including Oqab Prison, Idlib Central Prison, Rif Muhasidim Prison, Harem Prison and Sarmada Prison, as well detention facilities in towns such as Darat Azza, Qasimiah, Binnish and Marat Misrin. Interviewees recounted how Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham shot at and killed prisoners who tried to escape during air strikes and ground attacks by proGovernment forces on Idlib Central Prison on 2 December 2019 and on Qasimiah Detention Facility on 17 January 2020. 94. Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham carried out executions of persons in detention, with the Commission documenting at least four such incidents and receiving reports about approximately 10 others. For example, a male teenager was executed by Hay’at Tahrir alSham in mid-April, after having condemned him to death for apostasy. A few months prior to the execution, he was arrested while entering the Syrian Arab Republic from Turkey. His phone was searched and messages critical of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham were reportedly found. Others were executed by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham after being accused of spying, including a former member of parliament, Rifat Mahmoud Daqqa, who was executed on 1 April for allegedly sharing information with pro-Government forces. Audiovisual material showed him sitting on the floor surrounded by men in military fatigues. Subsequently, he was shot in the head and twice in the chest with a .45 caliber pistol. Executions were frequently carried out in secret, usually in buildings occupied by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham’s security apparatus. One family was asked to go to the morgue at Idlib National Hospital, where they found that their executed relative had been shot once in the head and twice in the chest. 95. Looting was also undertaken in areas controlled by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham. In Atarib, a family refused to sell their possessions. When they returned to their house in March, as the town had not fallen to Government forces, the family found their homes looted of furniture and other items. Upon raising this issue with local Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham commanders, the fighters pointed their weapons at the men and threatened to kill them. 61 62 63 https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/un-resident-coordinator-and-humanitariancoordinator-syria-imran-riza; and www.icrc.org/en/document/syria-humanitarian-aid-workers-andproperty-must-be-respected-and-protected. www.facebook.com/Idlib.Central.Hospital/posts/2489309307995430. A/HRC/43/57, paras. 37–38. 17