Coordinator of the Office for Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Ahmed Bakkoura, has emphasized that Syria remains unsafe for the return of refugees due to the prevalent dangers resulting from violations and crimes committed by regime forces against civilians. Bakkoura called on the international community to exert necessary efforts to facilitate a complete political transition in the country.
Highlighting a new report issued by the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), Bakkoura, on Friday, underscored that the report, detailing regime forces arresting a refugee who returned to areas under their control and subsequently torturing him to death, further substantiates the inadequate conditions for refugee repatriation. He emphasized that establishing a secure environment necessitates achieving a political solution aligned with UN resolutions, particularly Resolutions 2118 and 2254.
Expressing concern, Bakkoura warned against compelling Syrian refugees to return to areas under regime control, emphasizing that such a scenario would endanger their lives, subjecting them to risks such as arrest, forced disappearance, or torture to death. He emphasized that such actions constitute violations of international law, resolutions, and norms pertaining to refugee rights.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights report issued on Friday, Adham Jadid, a young man from the town of Madaya in the Damascus countryside, was arrested by regime forces on August 15, 2022, at the Kassab border crossing in the northern countryside upon his return from Turkey to regularize his status with the regime and return to his original place of residence.
The Network reported that Jadid’s family was able to visit him for the last time in September 2023 in the notorious Sednaya military prison near Damascus, after paying large sums through intermediaries affiliated with the regime. They revealed that Adham’s health was severely deteriorated due to brutal torture, deprivation of food, and inadequate healthcare during his detention, with visible signs of torture apparent on his body.
The monitoring group clarified that Adham’s family received unofficial news of his death in Sednaya Military Prison on November 14, while attempting to schedule a visit, but they have been unable to receive his body.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
