President of the Syrian Negotiations Commission, Badr Jamous, said that Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons have suffered greatly since the start of the Syrian revolution. He emphasized that the Commission raises this issue in all its international meetings and is actively working to find comprehensive solutions to this persistent problem.
Jamous made these remarks during his participation in a special conference for Syrian prisoners of conscience in Lebanese prisons, held remotely on July 20. The conference included many politicians, opposition figures, activists, Syrian writers and artists, Lebanese lawyers, and numerous specialists concerned with the issues of Syrian detainees, particularly those in Lebanese prisons.
Jamous highlighted that the Syrian Negotiations Commission is acutely aware of the magnitude of this issue, which amounts to a tragedy. The Commission is working on all media, political, and legal fronts to find a solution or mitigate the suffering of Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons. Despite their efforts, the Commission sometimes faces disappointment when some countries change their positions on the Syrian issue.
He noted that the Commission addresses this issue in all its international visits, the most recent of which was to New York. The topic was discussed with ambassadors and representatives from countries including Qatar, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Great Britain, Slovakia, and others, as well as with members of the Security Council and the United Nations. It was also recently discussed with the Turkish Foreign Ministry. Jamous stated, “We are aware that there is an impasse, but we will not give up. We will continue to raise our voice loudly until we find a solution with all Syrians to this humanitarian issue.”
Jamous also emphasized that the Commission is intensifying its international communications on this matter and has sent a special letter to the UN Secretary-General, the UN envoy to Syria, Geir Pedersen, and the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, the United States, and others. Additionally, the Commission is communicating with Lebanese parties that support Syrian detainees, all with the hope of reaching satisfactory solutions for these detainees and their families.
Jamous explained that the Commission’s Legal Office and the Committee of Detainees and Forcibly Disappeared are constantly following up on this issue. They are in communication with the International Committee of the Red Cross and international human rights organizations to ensure the security and fair treatment of Syrian political prisoners in Lebanon, ultimately aiming for their release.
He also called for continuous media follow-up on this issue from all Syrian media outlets to keep it alive and effective. He praised the role of Syrian legal organizations and stressed the importance of increasing their interest in this issue. Jamous affirmed the Commission’s readiness to coordinate and cooperate with everyone to follow up on cases of detainees, prevent their deportation to regime-held areas, provide health needs, and document violations against Syrian detainees in Lebanon.
Several Commission members, politicians, human rights activists, and representatives of prisoners of conscience and political detainees in Lebanon also spoke during the conference.
The conference called for the formation of an emergency, exceptional, and unconventional task force to achieve justice, treat medical cases, improve the health and nutritional status of Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons, find an urgent solution to the issue of financial bail, appoint lawyers for them, retry them, support survivors and their families, and seek the transfer of detainees to northern Syria. It also emphasized the importance of communicating with human rights and international bodies, documenting violations, and raising this issue in all international forums
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
