Surrounded by his children and wife, Syrian regime forces arrested a young man from Daraa as he returned from Lebanon through the Jdeidet Yabous crossing on the Syrian-Lebanese border. He was taken to an unknown location after being identified as wanted by security services.
A relative of the arrested young man, who spoke to Enab Baladi on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, explained that he is a defector from the regime forces and had been living in Lebanon for several years.
The relative added that the young man had voluntarily surrendered to Syrian authorities, expecting not to be arrested since he was still within the legal timeframe of a presidential pardon issued by President Bashar al-Assad last September, which included army defectors.
He also noted that deteriorating security conditions in Lebanon, coupled with the impact of Israeli military operations, prompted the young man to leave Lebanon, making his return to Syria his only option.
Arrest and release
This is not the first incident involving the arrest of returnees from Lebanon. Prior to this, another young man from Daraa governorate was apprehended while returning to Syria with his family. The regime’s security forces at the Jdeidet Yabous crossing released him, but only on the condition that he return to Lebanon.
A relative of this young man reported that he was arrested at the same crossing on September 25 while entering Syria. His family was allowed to proceed, but they lost contact with him for several hours.
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According to the source, the young man had suffered burns from a work accident in Lebanon just ten days before his arrest and had not received proper medical treatment, raising concerns among his family when he went missing at the border.
The relative emphasized that the young man was unarmed and had no prior security reports against him. His family remains in the dark about the reason for his arrest, especially given his history of regular entry into Lebanon.
More than 24 hours after his arrest, he was released but was forced to return to Lebanon, with security authorities at the border crossing denying him entry back into Syria, as confirmed by his relative in Daraa governorate.
Amnesty is a “trap”
Tamer al-Jahmani, a lawyer at the Committee for the Defense of Prisoners of Conscience in Syria, told Enab Baladi that the regime is “trying to mock the international community” by sending political signals indicating openness to various segments of society. However, he emphasized that most countries and international organizations recognize that these decrees have little positive impact on the Syrian people. He described the decrees as a “trap, similar to the trap of settlements,” asserting that the regime intends to use them to arrest defectors and detain them in security branches. Jahmani cautioned wanted Syrians against returning through the regime’s official channels, warning that they could face arrest.
Nine cases
The Syrian Network for Human Rights has documented arbitrary arrests of Syrian refugees returning from Lebanon to escape escalating Israeli airstrikes since September 23.
On October 2, Al-Shabaka reported that at least nine Syrian refugees, most from the Damascus countryside, were arrested under the pretext of compulsory and reserve conscription.
The rights group noted that these arrests occurred at both official and unofficial border crossings between Lebanon and Syria, with most detainees taken to security and military detention centers in the Homs and Damascus governorates.
According to a source from the Immigration and Passports department, reported by the local newspaper Al-Watan, approximately 239,000 Syrians have returned to their country, including around 5,000 who entered in the past 24 hours.
The same source indicated that nearly 91,000 Lebanese have also crossed into Syrian territory, with about 3,000 entering in the last 24 hours.
The Lebanese-Syrian border is experiencing daily movement of Syrians and Lebanese heading into Syria due to the ongoing Israeli military escalation, while some are also leaving Syria for other countries such as Iraq, Jordan, and the Gulf states.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
