Daughter of imprisoned Christian Syrian urges Trump to intervene
Former mayor Suleiman Khalil of Sadad, Syria, has been detained without charge since February 2025, now 19 months in custody. His daughter Natalie Khalil and Christian Solidarity International have urged the U.S. government, including a letter to President Trump, to intervene in his case. Khalil’s detention is viewed as retaliation for his defense of the town during an ISIS assault, raising concerns about the safety of Christians in Syria under the new government. Family members reported restrictions during visits, being barred from expressing their Christian identity and from bringing religious items into the prison. The case underscores tensions between the Syrian transitional government and the U.S., with the U.S. seen as a key ally in the region.
7 days ago
The daughter of Suleiman Khalil, a former mayor in Sadad, Syria, is asking President Donald Trump and U.S. officials to intervene after her father spent 19 months detained without publicly stated charges. Christian Solidarity International (CSI) says the case raises concerns about the treatment of Christians under Syria’s transitional government. 1
Suleiman Khalil was arrested on Feb. 8, 2025, after authorities came to his home and said he was wanted. According to his daughter, Natalie Khalil, the family was not told why he had been detained and was not permitted to obtain a lawyer. 1
Khalil remains in custody under Syria’s transitional government, which has been in power for roughly two years. His family and CSI are calling for U.S. governmental action on his behalf. 1
Khalil is a Christian political figure who became widely respected after helping organize Sadad’s defense during an ISIS assault in 2015. The effort was credited with protecting more than 9,000 residents. 1
Joel Veldkamp, CSI’s director for public advocacy, said Khalil received an early warning of the approaching ISIS attack and acted independently to protect the community. Veldkamp said Khalil was not aligned with Syria’s former regime. 1
According to Veldkamp, Khalil’s detention may be connected to those actions. He said the case has significance for Christians throughout Syria because it could affect perceptions of their security and future in a country with one of the world’s oldest Christian communities. 1
Natalie Khalil said prison authorities imposed restrictions on the family during visits, including requirements that female relatives cover their heads, hair, and bodies with a hijab. She said authorities removed a cross necklace from her brother and prevented the family from openly expressing its Christian identity. 1
She also said she was unable to bring her father a Bible in prison. “We weren’t allowed to be Christians in that place,” she said. 1
Natalie Khalil recently wrote to Trump asking for assistance. She said she was not seeking special treatment, but justice and a resolution in her father’s case. 1
CSI said the detention sends a troubling message because the Syrian government is seeking cooperation with the United States in combating terrorism while holding a Christian community leader who helped oppose ISIS. Veldkamp also said the transitional government is highly dependent on the Trump administration and that Washington has significant expectations for Syria. 1
Investigate Catholic Church’s stance on protecting Syrian Christians
The Catholic Church’s position is that Syrian Christians must be protected as a matter of human dignity, religious freedom, and equal citizenship, but not through policies that protect Christians while neglecting other vulnerable Syrians. The Church consistently calls for an end to violence, a negotiated political solution, humanitarian assistance, and societies in which Christians and other minorities can remain safely in their historic homeland.
1. End the war and protect civilians.
Pope Benedict XVI identified the cessation of violence as the essential condition for preventing the displacement and disappearance of Syrian Christians. He urged dialogue and a just political solution rather than continued warfare.
2. Defend religious freedom and equal citizenship.
The Church insists that Syrian Christians must enjoy freedom of conscience, religious practice, and participation in national life. Pope John Paul II linked religious freedom with social peace and called for respect for the identity and history of all communities.
The USCCB likewise calls for inclusive societies in Syria and Iraq that protect the rights of all citizens, explicitly including Christians and other minorities.
3. Support Christians’ right to remain in Syria.
The Church does not view the permanent disappearance of Christianity from Syria as acceptable or inevitable. Benedict XVI said that Christians should be helped to remain, while emphasizing that the most effective protection is ending the war and creating conditions for communities to live together.
This is not an absolute demand that every Christian remain despite danger. The Church also supports refuge and resettlement for people who cannot safely return. The USCCB urges governments to accept vulnerable refugees and assist displaced persons.
4. Provide concrete humanitarian and pastoral assistance.
Catholic policy includes aid to refugees, internally displaced persons, and local communities through agencies such as Catholic Relief Services and Caritas. Benedict XVI described a coordinated effort to assist Syrians inside and outside the country, while the Holy See called for solidarity with refugees and those suffering violence.
5. Permit proportionate protection against aggressors.
The USCCB position allows that the international community may need to use “proportionate and discriminate force” to stop unjust aggressors and protect civilians and religious minorities. However, such action must comply with international humanitarian law, respect human rights, and operate under a United Nations Security Council mandate. Military action is presented as a limited measure, not the complete solution.
6. Reduce the conditions that fuel persecution.
The Church supports ceasefires, serious negotiations, impartial aid, rule of law, accountable policing and courts, and efforts to address political exclusion and economic desperation. It also opposed the continued importation of weapons that prolong the conflict.
7. Encourage Christian–Muslim coexistence.
Catholic teaching does not frame the crisis as a conflict between Christians and Muslims as such. Benedict XVI noted that Muslims as well as Christians were fleeing, and he called for dialogue and shared coexistence. John Paul II encouraged Syrian Christians to work with Muslims for peace and the good of the nation.
The Church’s stance can be summarized as protect Christians by protecting human rights, ending persecution and war, and preserving a pluralistic Syria. It supports political advocacy, humanitarian aid, refugee protection, religious freedom, and—under strict legal and moral conditions—force to defend civilians. It does not endorse Christian separatism, retaliation, or an exclusively Christian refugee policy.
The supplied material does not establish the Church’s detailed position on particular current Syrian factions, governments, or recent incidents. It does, however, make the governing principles clear: equal citizenship, religious freedom, non-discrimination, humanitarian protection, dialogue, and the right of Christians to live safely in their ancestral homeland.