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Syrian youth Mohammad Anqa has returned home from Iraq after a death sentence issued against him last October was overturned.
Syria’s state news agency SANA said Tuesday that Mohammad Anqa, 22, arrived at Damascus International Airport from Iraq after being acquitted of the charges brought against him, as a result of the efforts made by the Syrian government and its continued follow-up of the case in coordination with the Iraqi government. He was received by members of his family.
The young man’s relatives previously told the Syria Now platform that a court in Najaf issued a ruling on Oct. 27 sentencing Mohammad Anqa to death by hanging, after he was arrested at the beginning of last year over a Facebook post in which he shared a video of President Ahmad al-Sharaa.
During an inspection of his phone, authorities found photos and videos of President Sharaa, along with footage dating back to the period of the war in Syria.
Several Syrian journalists shared an image of a document purportedly issued by the Criminal Court in Najaf, showing the death sentence against the young man.
According to human rights sources and testimony from his relatives, the Syrian young man was subjected to severe torture and electric shocks during interrogation, and was forced to sign confessions without knowing their contents and without a lawyer present.
His case was later referred to the court on “terrorism” charges under Iraq’s Anti-Terrorism Law No. 13 of 2005, and he was sentenced to death before the ruling was later overturned.
A large number of observers of Syrian affairs praised the efforts of the General Intelligence Service in securing the young man’s return from Iraq. Social media users commented that “Syrian lives are valued now.”
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