Lelun Afrin
The Lelun Association for Victims, a survivor-led organization representing victims of arbitrary detention and human rights violations from across Syria—including the Afrin region—has contributed to a major investigative report by CNN, published on June 12, 2025, titled: “Women detail alleged abuses carried out by militia under commander now in Syria’s top military brass.”
The CNN investigation reveals grave violations committed by armed factions against Syrian women, particularly from Kurdish minority communities. Alarmingly, some of the individuals implicated in these abuses now hold senior positions in the newly formed Syrian Army, despite being subject to international sanctions.
Lelun Association played a critical role in the investigation by providing CNN with verified images from secret detention facilities, exposing the conditions in which women were held. The association also facilitated access to testimonies from members of its diaspora network—many of whom are survivors of detention or have been involved in documenting such abuses.
Lonjin Abdo, Executive Director of the Lelun Association, was instrumental in the report’s preparation, supplying the CNN team with documentation and human rights reports that the association has compiled since its founding.
Patterns of Abuse Revealed
The investigation is based on exclusive survivor testimonies detailing a systematic pattern of abduction, torture, and sexual violence carried out by factions affiliated with the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army.
One of the most prominent figures named in the report is Sayf Bulad, known as Abu Bakr, a former commander in the Hamza Division. Despite facing both U.S. and EU sanctions for his role in serious human rights violations in northwestern Syria—and documented abuses in the coastal region—he was recently appointed to lead a military division in Aleppo province.
In her statement to CNN, Lonjin Abdo said: “This is an insult to our suffering. It means that my pain, and the pain of those who were with me, is being sidelined.”
A Warning Against Impunity
The Lelun Association emphasized that its participation in the investigation aligns with its ongoing mission to document abuses, support victims, and advocate for accountability. The association warned that elevating human rights violators to official positions in any future Syrian government poses a direct threat to justice, reconciliation, and long-term peace.
Since its founding, the association has focused on collecting testimonies from women who survived detention by armed groups in northern Syria—most notably the Hamza Division—and submitting these accounts to international platforms and potential judicial mechanisms.
The CNN report comes at a critical time, as Syria enters a fragile transitional phase following the fall of the previous regime. Syrian Transitional President Ahmad al-Sharaa has pledged to build a state based on respect for human rights and to ensure the safe and dignified return of displaced residents to Afrin and other affected regions.
However, the appointment of military leaders implicated in documented crimes raises serious concerns about the credibility of these promised reforms and casts doubt on the transitional government’s commitment to justice and redress.
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