Testimony on Government Actions and Allegations

In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and mercy

upon our martyrs. The martyrs of Rankous. The martyrs of dawn

whose only sin was that they observed prayers in

mosques.

We ask God Almighty to free the detainees who were arrested

unjustly and aggressively. I am Mohammad Al-Khatib, one of those accused of belonging to

داعش. My home was raided in a terrifying manner, and by God's decree,

I was outside the house. I would like to clarify some points

that many people are asking about,

regarding what happened in our town.

First, what have we ever done to you, government, since

2019 until today?

They ask what we are. We were among

the young men behind enemy lines, affiliated with the group, from 2019 until even months after

the fall. Until our state became unclear, and we could no longer

tell right from wrong. The free people became mixed in

with the Shabiha.

They adopted a policy of marginalizing the free people. We thought of returning to civilian

life, and after that,

we did

not miss a single day of any battle the state fought against the enemies of

the country. A liar has his witnesses. I want…

I address my words

to certain people now responsible in the state, in security.

Those ashamed to say we were with them behind

enemy lines, yet they weren't ashamed to accuse us of being ISIS. Those

in Maraya from Assal al-Ward. Do you remember when you used to talk to us before

the fall and say, “May God show me a way to reach you

so I can serve you with my life. You behind enemy lines are our hope.”

When liberation came, we never saw your face. Abu Mamoun al-Shami, you whose

nickname is Ruwwad al-Talleh, do you remember when you spoke with us in the battle to deter

aggression?

We were among the first to take part in it.

You sent us a post: “Get ready and prepare for battle,

and we will reach you.”

Nor Abu Jaafar al-Ghouta, nor Abu Ali al-Iraqi al-Houshani.

When you were wounded, who went and got you? Abu Yaqub al-Huthayri.

How many times were we wounded and went to get you in the days of the

fallen regime?

How many times did we bring you to us and put you up in our homes?

And we're not holding it over you. No, by God, we seek

reward from God Almighty. Nor al-Qa'qa al-Houshani.

We did not work with you after the fall.

And the list goes on. The names. We'd have to list those in charge.

Everyone we mentioned is still at the head of their work

in the state.

You no longer recognize us now.

And we became ISIS members when we left because you said there was no longer

any jihad, and we

didn't leave over two hundred dollars just to stay.

I challenge any government, security, or intelligence agency, or any

other agency,

to prove that we dealt with any organization other than Hay'at

Tahrir al-Sham, formerly.

Secondly, regarding those asking why we were armed, we armed ourselves with them

before the liberation,

not after it. And those asking why we resisted

if we hadn't done anything, firstly, they had nothing on us security-wise

or criminally. No one sent warrants or

summonses. No prominent person in town stood with them.

No mukhtar stood with them. I mean, is it possible that a town of

25,000 people

has no one important enough for you to go to, so they could come with you

on the raid?

We never expected that one day, those we had worked with

for five years

would come in on us this way. So our first assumption was that those who

Did Hezbollah enter in this barbaric,

bloody, terrorist manner,

or the Jews or anyone under the security apparatus?

That is why

the reaction happened.

And I want to ask every honorable free man who rose up in Idlib or

anywhere in Syria, would any honorable free man accept being dragged

to the security branches and humiliated before the shabiha, while the shabiha

are still sitting in their homes, those whose specialty was

artillery, aircraft, and tanks, and who shelled

homes, sitting in their homes with no one going near them.

You're even forbidden from calling him a shabiha.

You'll be prosecuted.

And I want to know what was the reason for this campaign against us

in this form and this manner. Who? Which security

officer killed our country? On the contrary, we welcomed them.

We had thought well of them.

What government institution was subjected to any incident in this country

for you to say it has ISIS members and terrorist cells?

At first, our accusation was being an insistent faction, and today it has become ISIS.

And we came to you, Abu Ubaida.

You have been in charge of the area since the fall, and we said,

"We want to file a complaint against all the members who were"

Participants in the 2020 Rankous massacre, which claimed six

young men, may God accept them, among the finest in the town where I was present

And I was shot during it.

We told you there would be strife between the families in town.

There are people

who sow discord among the families and rob the town.

We told you these families are behind these names.

Every member who took part in the patrol. And these are the names of the patrol leaders.

And all the papers are with you. We gave them to you as well before.

We told you, bring them to us and reveal who

committed this malicious act

so that the strife in town may be extinguished.

But you did nothing.

You even made the victim into a criminal.

God is sufficient for us, and He is the best disposer of affairs

against every oppressor, at any time and in any place.

May God reward every free, honorable person who stood with him.

if you

do. Injured.

And the oppressors.