Syrian refugees who returned to their country faced torture and rape, Amnesty report says

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Syrian government security forces detained, tortured, and raped former Syrian refugees returning to their country, a new report published by the human rights monitor Amnesty International on Tuesday revealed.

Entitled “You’re going to your death”, the report documents abuses afflicted by Syrian intelligence officers on Syrians who had previously left their country due to the civil war that started there over a decade ago.  

Amnesty says that its findings contradict claims made by Denmark, Sweden, and Turkey, which have said that it is now safe for Syrian refugees seeking sanctuary in those countries to return home. In reality, returning Syrian refugees were sought out and tortured for having left Syria in the first place. Many of these returnees are accused of treason or supporting “terrorism.”

Amnesty documented 24 cases of men, women, and children subjected to such human rights violations for having been refugees.

The organization also uncovered 14 cases of sexual violence committed by security forces against five women, a teenage boy, and a five-year-old girl returning to Syria. One of the victims returned to her country from Lebanon and was told by the security officer who raped her that, “You’re a terrorist … Syria is not a hotel that you leave and return to when you want.”

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In compiling research for its report, Amnesty looked into 59 cases of men, women, and children detained upon returning to Syria. Out of these cases, 33 returnees endured torture or other human rights violations.

These documented incidents took place between mid-2017 and last spring.

“The torture, enforced disappearances, and arbitrary or unlawful detention which forced many Syrians to seek asylum abroad are as rife as ever in Syria today,” said Amnesty researcher on refugee and migrant rights Marie Forestier. “What’s more, the very fact of having fled Syria is enough to put returnees at risk of being targeted by authorities.”

“Any government claiming Syria is not safe is willfully ignoring the horrific reality on the ground, leaving refugees once again fearing for their lives,” she added.

Forestier also called upon countries that host Syrian refugees to continue doing so “to provide refuge, and ensure ongoing protection from the Syrian government’s atrocities”.