The Fall of the Syrian Regime: An Opportunity to Address the File of Syrian and Lebanese Detainees and Uncover the Fate of the Missing and Disappeared
Urgent Statement from MENA Prison Forum
December 9, 2024
To the New Syrian Authorities,
To the Lebanese Government,
With the fall of the Syrian regime, the dawn of freedom emerging in Damascus, and signs of change appearing across Syria, we extend our congratulations to the Syrian and Lebanese people on the end of a nightmare that tormented both nations for more than 50 years.
The MENA Prison Forum (MPF) and UMAM Documentation and Research (UMAM D&R) have long worked to shed light on the scale of the crimes and grave human rights violations associated with arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances. It is now imperative and urgent to take the opportunity presented by the current moment to address these issues which have long subjected Syrians, Lebanese, and other nationals to repression, torture, and horror.
From a human rights and justice perspective, the MPF expresses its profound concern regarding the fate of Lebanese and Syrian detainees who spent years in the custody of the fallen regime. These individuals are emerging today in various states and requiring psychological, medical, and psycho-social care.
The MPF also emphasizes the necessity of safeguarding the files and documents discovered in prisons and security branches. Thousands of individuals remain missing, and the regime consistently refused to hand over related documentation, instead exploiting and using information to intimidate and financially extort the families of those detained and missing.
We call on the Syrian opposition, which has begun to assume authority, and the Lebanese government to take decisive steps to address the files of detainees and the disappeared. A joint effort is essential to uncover their fate and ensure their return to their families and homelands.
These actions are a critical starting point for achieving justice, transparency, and rebuilding trust between the two nations and their peoples. We urge urgent attention to this humanitarian and legal file and prompt action to guarantee the rights of detainees and those forcibly disappeared.
MENA Prison Forum
Beirut, December 9, 2024