Daughter of Christian Syriac man from Sadad appeals to Geir Pedersen for help in release of her father

SADAD, Beth Nahrin — On 8 February 2025, the security forces of the Syrian government arrested Christian Syriac leader Suleiman Khalil, the former mayor of Sadad, a historic Christian town in Hmoth (Homs) province. The reason for his arrest and the charges against him are unknown. He is reportedly being held in a special interrogation facility after initially being detained in a military security facility and in Homs Central Prison.  

The arrest has drawn condemnation from human rights groups and Syriac advocacy organizations, who allege that Khalil (51) is being unfairly targeted for his role in defending the town of Sadad against the Islamic State (ISIS). The incumbent Syrian government, headed by the former leader of the now dissolved Islamist militant faction Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Ahmad al-Sharaa, and its security apparatus are populated by various Islamist military factions who, amongst others, previously fought against the Assad regime. Among these Islamist factions were the so-called Free Syrian Army and HTS, who in the past had close ties to Al-Qaida and ISIS. 

Related: Detention of prominent Christian Syriac leader in Syria sparks fears of religious persecution and calls for justice 

Suleiman’s daughter Natalie Khalil has now written a letter, on behalf of her family, to UN Special Envoy Syria Geir Pedersen for Suleiman’s freedom. According to her, Suleiman has not been allowed to see a lawyer or communicate with his family in any way. Natalie outright refutes allegations that her father did anything wrong during the time he organized resistance to ISIS in the Syriac town of Sadad. She states that Suleiman was a member of a political party in opposition to the Assad regime and even celebrated the liberation of Syria in December 2024: “He is greatly admired in Sadad, by people of all religious backgrounds, for organizing its defense against Daesh in 2015. He has committed no crime,” she writes. 

In her appeal to Geir Pedersen, who met the Syrian President in Daramsuq (Damascus) on 30 June—the same day Natalie published her letter— Natalie urges the UN Special Envoy to Syria to engage directly with Ahmad al-Sharaa President and ask him for Suleiman Khalil’s immediate release. Suleiman’s release would demonstrate the new government’s commitment to transparency, due process, political inclusivity, and equal rights for all Syrians, she states. 

Whether or not the Syriac Suleiman Khalil will be immediately released in the short term or whether the charges against him will be known is not certain. His release, however, would be a positive sign for future coexistence given the very fragile state of the country today, with the recent brutal violence of government security forces against Alawites in March of this year, and the recent bombing of the Mar Elias Church in Daramsuq. It is an understatement that relations between Syrians of different political and religious denominations could use a positive boost right now.