Refugees returning to Syria from Lebanon and Jordan risk arrest, imprisonment, torture, kidnapping and even execution without trial. This is evident from the report published on Wednesday Our lives are like death from Human Rights Watch.
The human rights organization largely disproves the claim of some European politicians that it is now safe enough to return refugees in parts of Syria – such as the capital Damascus. Denmark has already withdrawn the residence permits of about 250 Syrians with that argument.
Also read: Denmark believes that Syrians can return; who follows?
Human Rights Watch documented 65 cases of returned Syrian refugees from Lebanon and Jordan, who returned to their countries of origin between 2017 and 2021. Of these, 21 people were arrested and imprisoned, 13 tortured, three kidnapped, five killed without trial, while 17 disappeared from the radar after being arrested. One of them said he had been sexually assaulted.
For example, 32-year-old Yasser was tortured in the city of Homs after returning from Lebanon by members of one of the security services. Completely naked, after days of imprisonment in a cell of one meter by one metre, he suffered electric shocks, while his tormentors also broke one of his shoulder blades. When they presented Yasser with a number of confessions after prolonged torture, he signed them unread. The latter is a fairly common method, according to Human Rights Watch. “I was so scared,” said Yasser, who had initially denied, “but after all that torture, I agreed to everything they accused me of. They gave me the words and then I repeated them.”
In particular, the Syrian authorities are detaining people who have not completed their military service. But even the slightest suspicion of contact with Syrian resistance fighters during the more than ten years of civil war can lead to arrest or torture. “No refugee should go back to Syria,” said 38-year-old Halim, who did. “The situation there is so bad.”
Also read: Denmark sends refugees back: ‘If we arrive in Syria, my husband will be killed’
The people in the investigation decided to return to Syria for various reasons. Some lost their jobs and income due to Covid-19 lockdowns and ran out of money to support their families and themselves. Others had heard that the security situation in Syria had improved and wanted to return to their old home and surroundings. Still others could no longer afford medical treatments, including for cancer, and hoped it would be easier to obtain them in Syria.
The HRW researchers also point out that the refugees came to their decision in part because the government in both Lebanon and Jordan is making it increasingly difficult for them to develop in those countries.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of October 21, 2021
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