Advocacy groups recently wrote Thomas Barrack, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Türkiye and Envoy to Syria and Iraq, asking the U.S. to intervene in the detention of a Syrian Christian.
The letter, sent on June 25, was penned by In Defense of Christians (IDC) and co-signed by leaders from Christians Solidarity International (CSI); International Religious Freedom Summit (IRF); Institute for Global Engagement (IGE); Shai Fund; American Syriac Union (ASU); and Alawite Association of the United States (AAUS).
Suleiman Khalil is the former mayor of Sadad, one of the world’s oldest Christian towns. On Feb. 8, forces belonging to the Syrian Transitional Government arrested Khalil at his home and have held him without formal charges, a right to a lawyer, medical care, and access to biblical resources. His family has been left without communication as to the state of his health, leaving them to believe that he is being tortured.
The coalition argued that by fighting for Khalil to gain access to legal counsel and healthcare — and ultimately for his release — the ambassador would be assisting President Donald Trump in his goal of protecting Christians in the Middle East.
During the Syrian Civil War in 2015, the Islamic State group (ISIS) attacked Sadad. Khalil organized strong defenses for his town and prevented the terrorist group from killing and kidnapping residents — as they did in al-Qaryatayn, a neighboring Christian town.
“Mr. Khalil’s actions in defending his town against ISIS should be celebrated by all Syrians, especially the new government, which has officially joined the U.S.-led Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS,” the letter said. “Instead, Syria’s government appears to be punishing him for it.”
Holding Khalil is not an individual issue — the coalition argued that the government is sending a message to other Christians in the country, saying, “You have no future here.”
IDC’s executive director, Richard Ghazal, spoke individually on the matter.
“The detention of Suleiman Khalil is not simply about an individual,” Ghazal said. “Mr. Khalil risked his life defending his community against ISIS. This moment stands as a test of whether Syria’s new government intends to protect those who defended their communities against the Islamist terror group, and whether Christians can have confidence in their future in Syria.”
Neither the Syrian government nor the U.S. Embassy in the Republic of Türkiye has issued a public response to the letter as of this post.
