Survivor Testifies to Sexual Assault by HTS-affiliate Commander
A woman from Damascus has come forward with a harrowing account of rape and blackmail at the hands a known militant commander named Abu Mahmoud Al-Asmar. In a video testimony, she describes how she was coerced, threatened, and ultimately assaulted after being unable to pay a demanded sum of money.
Translated Victim’s Testimony:
“There was a man called Abu Mahmoud Al-Asmar. He asked me for $3,000. I didn’t have that money.
I have no one—no father, no brother, no sister. I don’t know anyone. When I told him I couldn’t pay, he asked if I had any gold or valuables. I told him no. That’s when they transferred me to a private room.
She describes the initial deception, where she was given food and drinks in what seemed like a comfortable setting, only for it to turn into a nightmare.
“At first, the room was spacious, and they gave me food and drink—everything seemed fine. But then they started threatening me. They told me that this man, Abu Mahmoud, could help me, but only on one condition.
I had to obey him. They pressured me. I had no one. I knew no one.
Left without options, she was detained under false pretenses, with the looming threat of extended imprisonment.
“They told me if I didn’t comply, I’d be jailed for three days. But on the very first day, I was assaulted.”
SJA
