Syrian army defector still missing

Colonel Hussein Harmoush was one of the first army officers to defect from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime at the start of the Syrian Revolution. However his whereabouts are still unknown following his arrest by government forces in August 2011. Videos emerged soon after appearing to show Harmoush's "confessions" - all broadcast on state-owned television channels the following September. Harmoush announced his defection on June 10 2011 following a brutal government crackdown on Jisr al-Shughur, which forced 2,000 resident to flee amid reports of a "civilian massacre." Immediately after the Colonel's controversial departure, he declared the establishment of the Movement of Free Officers, appealing to other government forces to “defect and join him.” He then claimed responsibility for the deaths of 120 security forces, whom the government alleged had been killed at Jisr al-Shughur on June 7, supposedly the reason behind Assad's first major crackdown in a then 11-week anti-government uprising. However, Syrian authorities announced Harmoush’s arrest on August 20, broadcasting his “confession” just over a month later on September 15. Nobody has heard from Harmoush or knows of his whereabouts, despite repeated calls for his release from opposition and human rights activists. Harmoush topped a list of Free Syrian Army [FSA] detainees held by the regime, ahead of this January’s prisoner exchange, which ultimately necessitated the release of 48 Iranian prisoners in return for a number of Syrians held in regime jails. But Harmoush was never released, 21 months after his capture. Some reports have indicated Syrian security services may have killed the Colonel as early as September 2011, right after broadcasting his confessions. Other sources claim Harmoush is still alive, somewhere in President Assad's feared network of prisons and torture centres.