Watan-The Lebanese authorities are planning to deport a former detainee and hand him over to the Assad regime after spending years in Lebanese prisons. Activists report that the young man is named “Yasin Mohammad Marwan Al-Atr,” born in Al-Qusayr in 1993.
Yasin’s brother, Leith Al-Atr, revealed to “Watani” that Yasin was arrested in the Arsal region seven years ago. He confessed under torture, along with other Syrian youth who were arrested at that time for their participation in the Battle of Arsal. False charges were attributed to him, leading to a ten-year prison sentence by the military court.
Unexecuted release
The source added that Yasin’s family sought to obtain a release order, which cost around 300 million Lebanese pounds, equivalent to $3,000. However, a month and a half after his release from Roumieh prison, they were surprised when he was transferred to the General Security.
إلى أهل الضمير في لبنان
لكل فعلٍ ردُّ فعل، وما يجري لكثير من السوريين في لبنان من تنكيل واعتداء واعتقال وتعذيب وتسليم لنظام الأسد جدُّ خطير وله عواقب وخيمة، ومنها محاولة تسليم الناشط ياسين محمد مروان العتر، الذي يحتلُ حزب الله بلدته #القصير بريف #حمص منذ ٢٠١٣، ويعتقل النظام… pic.twitter.com/w6yLEVzljF
— أحمد رمضان Ahmed Ramadan (@AhmedRamadan_SY) January 26, 2024
He remained there for about another month and a half, and they were shocked yesterday, Thursday, by the decision to hand him over to the Syrian regime. Notably, Yasin’s father, Mohammad Marwan Al-Atr, used to work in agricultural scientific research. He was arrested in 2012, and there is no information about him so far, whether he is alive or dead.
Atr’s lawyer comments
In turn, the lawyer of the activist youth, interested in Syrian refugee affairs, and director of the “Sedar” Legal Studies Center, Mohamed Sablouh, stated in a post on his Facebook account that his client Yasin Al-Atr was being tried before the military appeals court, which released him more than a month ago. The General Security issued an official decision to prevent him from traveling outside Lebanese territory.
قررت حكومة لبنان تسليم الشاب “ياسين العتر” إلى نظام الأسد، علمًا بأنه مطلوب ومهدد بالقتل، نطالب وبشدة حكومة لبنان بإيقاف قرار الترحيل#انقذوا_ياسين_العتر pic.twitter.com/1YZzCrrb3H
— محمد ابو الهدى الحمصي (@aboalhodaalhoms) January 26, 2024
Sablouh narrated that he subsequently submitted a letter to the public prosecutor of the appeals court, emphasizing the danger of handing him over to the regime. He attached the travel ban decision issued by the judiciary and referred it to the public prosecutor of the appeals court for the General Security director’s awareness.
He continued, “After more than a month of his illegal detention by General Security, I was informed today of the director general’s decision to deport him.” Sablouh questioned, “Under which law did General Security deport him, and by whose judicial authority?”
He added, “Deporting the dissident exposes him to the risk of torture and death, which is contrary to the Convention Against Torture. So why doesn’t General Security adhere to it, and who will put an end to these violations?”
Illegal deportation
The deportation of Syrian refugees by the Lebanese authorities raises concerns among many international organizations, urging Lebanese officials to stop these “illegal” operations.
The case of Yasin Al-Atr is not the first in Lebanon. Months ago, Amnesty International documented the deportation of refugees from the residents of Bourj Hammoud, who were detained by the Syrian regime. Their families were informed to forget about them. Later, a defected officer informed them of the decision to hand over his dissident son to the Assad regime, despite the Lebanese court’s decision to ban his travel. After strenuous efforts, they managed to delay the execution of the decision.
According to lawyer Mohamed Sablouh in a statement to “Alhurra,” the Lebanese authorities violate the international human rights law and disregard their commitments to the Convention Against Torture, which imposes on them the obligation not to deport any person on their territory who declares that he is exposed in his country to torture, enforced disappearance, or persecution. However, they violate their commitments in full view of the UNHCR.
ترحيل المعارض السوري #ياسين_العتر من #لبنان لتسليمه ل #عصابة_اسد_الاجرامية هو مخالفة صريحة للدستور اللبناني والقانون الدولي الانساني .
ونحمل السلطات اللبنانية كامل المسؤولية القانونية في تعرض كل سوري على اراضيها للخطر او تقصيرها عن حمايته . pic.twitter.com/SDkXZWZjPc— المركز السوري لإستقصاء الجرائم (@avocat_ali) January 26, 2024
“Watan” learned on Friday evening that the General Security has halted the deportation of Yasin Al-Atr and postponed the consideration of his case until the beginning of next week. This came after his lawyer, Mohamed Sablouh, handed over a copy of the decision of the military appeals court ordering his release and preventing him from traveling for the second time.