A persecution watchdog group is speaking out for Christians in Syria, citing one disturbing case as an example of a much broader problem in the country.
In Defense of Christians (IDC) is rallying Christian advocacy groups to call on President Trump and Congress to help free a Syrian Christian leader, held without charges for 19 months.
Suleiman Khalil is the former mayor of Sadad, a historic Christian town he helped defend against ISIS’s mass killings and kidnappings in 2015. Syria’s transitional government arrested him in February of 2025.
Advocates say he has been denied an attorney, and his family says he has been prevented from practicing his Christian faith in prison. They say his case reflects a broader threat facing Syria’s Christians.
Richard Ghazal from IDC said, “He was abducted from his home and thrown in prison without access to counsel, limited access to family and medical care.”
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“The detention of Suleiman Khalil is not simply about an individual,” Ghazal explained. “This event is not unique; it’s happening all across Syria. But it sends a message to Christians that you are not welcome in Syria. You’re visitors, you are guests, and this is how you’ll be treated.”
The groups are urging U.S. leaders to press Syria’s government for Khalil’s immediate release and greater protections for religious minorities.
The coalition letter was signed by IDC; Christian Solidarity International; Ambassador Sam Brownback, former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom and Co-Chair of the International Religious Freedom Summit; Nadine Maenza, Chair of the Institute for Global Engagement and former Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Shai Fund; the American Syriac Union; and the Alawite Association of the United States.
