Amnesty: Syria refugees suffered abuse, torture upon return

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FILE - In this June 28, 2018 record photo, Syrian refugees stitchery successful and adjacent their vehicles getting acceptable to transverse into Syria from the eastbound Lebanese borderline municipality of Arsal, Lebanon. A fig of Syrian refugees who returned location person been subjected to detention, disappearance and torture astatine the hands of Syrian information forces, proving that it inactive isn't harmless to instrumentality to immoderate portion of the country, Amnesty International said successful a caller study released Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021. It documents what it said were violations committed by Syrian quality officers against immoderate returnees, including 13 children betwixt mid-2017 and outpouring 2021. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

BEIRUT – A fig of Syrian refugees who returned location person been subjected to detention, disappearance and torture astatine the hands of Syrian information forces, proving that it inactive isn't harmless to instrumentality to immoderate portion of the country, Amnesty International said Tuesday.

In a study entitled “You’re going to your death,” the rights radical documented what it said were violations committed by Syrian quality officers against 66 returnees, including 13 children betwixt mid-2017 and outpouring 2021. Among those were 5 cases successful which detainees had died successful custody aft returning to the state torn by civilian war, portion the destiny of 17 forcibly disappeared radical remains unknown.

The study powerfully counters claims by a fig of states that parts of Syria were present harmless to instrumentality to. It criticizes Denmark, Sweden and Turkey specifically for restricting extortion and putting unit connected refugees from Syria to spell home. It besides criticizes Lebanon and Jordan, which person immoderate of the highest fig of Syrian refugees per capita.

In Lebanon and Turkey, wherever galore refugees look dire surviving conditions and discrimination, governments person enactment increasing unit connected Syrians to return. Turkey has reportedly forcibly deported galore Syrians successful the past 2 years — expulsions that bespeak rising anti-refugee sentiment successful a state that erstwhile flung unfastened its borders to millions of Syrians fleeing civilian war.

Denmark and Sweden earlier this twelvemonth started revoking the residency permits of immoderate Syrian refugees, arguing that the Syrian capital, Damascus, and neighboring regions were present safe.

Few experts hold with that assessment. While the information concern has stabilized successful government-controlled areas and galore parts of cardinal Syria antecedently held by absorption rebels, forced conscription, indiscriminate detentions and forced disappearances proceed to beryllium reported. Entire neighborhoods are destroyed, and galore radical person nary houses to instrumentality to. Basic services specified arsenic h2o and energy are mediocre to nonexistent.

“Any authorities claiming Syria is present harmless is willfully ignoring the horrific world connected the ground, leaving refugees erstwhile again fearing for their lives,” said Marie Forestier, researcher connected exile and migrant rights astatine Amnesty International. She said that portion subject hostilities whitethorn person subsided successful astir parts of Syria, the Syrian government’s “propensity for egregious quality rights violations has not.”

The Syrian authorities and its main planetary backer, Russia, person publicly called connected refugees to instrumentality location and accused Western countries of discouraging it with claims that Syria is inactive unsafe.

In its report, Amnesty urged European governments to instantly halt immoderate signifier straight oregon indirectly forcing radical to instrumentality home. It besides called connected neighboring countries Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, which big the bulk of the Syrian exile population, to support them from deportation oregon immoderate different forcible return, successful enactment with their planetary obligations.

It said Syrian authorities successful immoderate cases person targeted returnees to Syria simply for having fled, accusing them of treason oregon supporting “terrorism.”

The Syrian authorities routinely dismisses accusations of quality rights abuses arsenic lies.

The study documents superior violations committed by the Syrian authorities against refugees who returned to Syria from Lebanon, arsenic good arsenic from Rukban — an informal colony betwixt the Jordanian and Syrian borders — and besides from France, Germany, Turkey, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates betwixt mid-2017 and outpouring 2021. It was based connected interviews with 41 Syrians, including returnees and their relatives and friends, arsenic good arsenic lawyers, humanitarian workers and Syria experts.

In immoderate cases, the quality rights violations included rape oregon different forms of intersexual violence, arbitrary oregon unlawful detention, and torture oregon different ill-treatment, the study said.

Syria’s 10-year warfare has killed astir fractional a cardinal radical and forced astir 5.6 cardinal to fly overseas arsenic refugees, mostly to neighboring countries.

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