The DC-based Syrian Emergency Task Force condemned the unlawful detention, torture and abuse of Syrian refugees in Lebanon, which it says has resulted in at least 40 deaths. Since 2014, Hezbollah and complicit Lebanese forces have arrested hundreds of Syrian refugees—particularly supporters of the Syrian Revolution—and sentenced them in unfair military trials, despite repatriation efforts by Syria's new government.
The detentions are rooted in the military intervention launched by Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah armed group against rebels fighting the Syrian dictatorship of Bashar Assad. These detentions began after Hezbollah's 2013 capture of the Qalamoun Mountains [8] in western Syria from rebel forces, forcing thousands of local residents to flee across the border into Lebanon, where many have since languished in camps without basic services or legal protections. Starting in 2014, Hezbollah and Lebanese forces began launching raids on these camps, arresting Syrians on charges of "association" with the Syrian revolutionary forces. Arrests intensified in 2017 and continued nearly through the fall of the Assad regime last December.
Detainees often face the Lebanese Military Court, known for harsh, politically motivated rulings against Syrian Revolution supporters. Its current head, Brig-Gen. Wassim Fayyad, recently sentenced three Syrians to life imprisonment.
Many detainees are held in Lebanon's Roumieh Central Prison [9], where conditions are dire. Designed for 1,400 but housing over 4,000, the prison suffers from extreme overcrowding, medical neglect of inmates, and food shortages.
At least 40 Syrian detainees in Lebanon have reportedly died due to harsh conditions or medical negligence since 2017. Dozens more, including the elderly and chronically ill, remain without care.
On July 4, a 40-year-old Syrian detainee, Muhammad Fawaz al-Ashraf, also known as "Muhammad al-Malik," committed suicide in Roumieh. He was found hanged after being held for two and a half years without trial. Al-Ashraf had been denied hospital treatment, despite failing health. (SETF [10])
The Syrian Network for Human Rights estimates that that some 2,000 Syrians are detained in Lebanese prisons, including 190 held over their involvement in the Syrian Revolution. Syria's new Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on the sidelines of the Arab Summit in Baghdad on May 19, and said they reached an agreement on the need "to end the suffering" of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon. However, there has been no progress since then. (SNHR [11], Anadolu Agency [12], al Astiklal [13], Asharq al-Awsat [14], NaharNet [15])
Diaa Janah, arrested at a refugee camp in Lebanon's Arsal area in July 2024 for his previous participation with Syrian rebel forces in the Qalamoun Mountains, was this July sentenced to two years in prison by the Military Court for belonging to a "terrorist group." This is a reference to his prior activities with forces affiliated with the rebel New Syrian Army [16]—in Syria, not Lebanon. (CounterVortex sources)
