Syrians have protested after a former White Helmets volunteer died following his detention at a police station in the coastal province of Latakia.
Mohammad Ghamira, 29, had gone to the station last week over a theft allegation. He later left in critical condition and died in hospital on Sunday, according to Raed al-Saleh, Syria’s minister of emergency and disaster management.
Al-Saleh said Ghamira died from complications linked to cerebral and gastrointestinal haemorrhaging after an alleged beating in custody.
Images showing Ghamira before his detention alongside another showing him unconscious in hospital with visible bruises spread widely online, prompting public anger.
Protesters gathered in Aleppo, carrying signs calling for accountability and warning against the return of abuses associated with the former government. Further protests were planned outside parliament in Damascus.
Ghamira’s family said they had informed officers that he had haemophilia, a condition that makes bleeding difficult to stop, before he was detained. His uncle told Syrian state media that the family had asked officers not to beat him.
The interior ministry said it had formed an investigative committee and detained seven ministry members for questioning. Interior Minister Anas Khattab said any violations by ministry personnel would be dealt with under the law.
The death has renewed scrutiny of detention practices in Syria following the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. The current government had pledged to end abuses associated with the former security system.
However, Syrians for Truth and Justice said it documented 14 cases of torture or deaths in custody between June 2025 and June 2026. The group said the change in political authority had not yet dismantled the structures and practices that enable abuse.
The UN independent commission of inquiry also reported in March that it had documented torture and abuse in 30 official and makeshift detention facilities across Syria in 2025.
Civil society groups have called for a transparent investigation into Ghamira’s death and accountability for those responsible.
