Following his arrest, Walid's sister called his phone and someone presenting himself as belonging to IS responded and told her that her brother had been "arrested on the basis of an arrest order" but that "he would be released soon." The person did not explain the reasons of the "arrest" and refused to disclose her brother's location. The family even received an envelope containing a handwritten letter and a picture of him. The letter's handwriting has been identified by the family as Walid's, who wrote that "he would be released soon."

In April and June 2015, two former detainees in the IS Point 11 detention centre reported that Walid was detained with them and was still alive when they left. Walid's mother then decided to go to that detention centre to inquire about her son's fate; however, the guards refused to provide her with any information about her son.

On 22 June 2015, Walid's family received a phone call from an unknown person who told them that Walid "had been sentenced to death," without giving any further details.

"The case of Walid exemplifies a larger pattern of enforced disappearances, torture and summary execution committed by IS. Carried out in such a widespread and systematic manner, these violations may as well amount to crimes against humanity," comments Rachid Mesli, Legal Director at Alkarama.

Concerned over Walid's disappearance which puts him at risk of being subjected to torture and summary execution, Alkarama and Human Rights Guardians seized the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) to investigate violations of international human rights law in Syria since March 2011.

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