Statement on the kidnapping of Syrians by the regime's embassy in Beirut
The embassy of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Beirut committed a criminal act in violation of all international and Lebanese laws and regulations by luring five Syrian citizens to the embassy on Friday, August 27, after promising them to issue valid Syrian travel documents for them to be able to leave Lebanon, namely: Ahmad Ziyad al-Eid and Muhammad Abd al-Ilah. Suleiman Al-Waked, Muhammad Saeed Al-Waked, Ibrahim Majid Al-Shamri, and Tawfiq Fayez Al-Hajji.
After the citizens arrived in front of the embassy, they disappeared in mysterious circumstances, as it turned out later that one of the Lebanese security services had arrested them under the pretext of entering Lebanese territory illegally, a pretext that does not comply with the legal rules attached to the right of asylum, which prompted these citizens to cross the border for fear for their lives as a result of persecution order them.
This criminal act, which is being committed by the embassy again, constitutes a continuation of the regime’s crimes inside and outside Syria, as its embassies have turned into places to humiliate and blackmail Syrians, as well as the embassies’ involvement in kidnapping some of them, as happened with the activist Mazen Al-Hammadi, who disappeared at the regime’s embassy in Berlin, then the regime transferred him to Damascus and no information about his fate until this moment. We condemn this act and hold the regime of Bashar al-Assad fully responsible for the fate of these five young men. We also hold the Lebanese government and the authority in force in it responsible for complicity with the regime of Bashar al-Assad, and we demand that it take the necessary legal measures to prevent the embassy from smuggling these citizens out of Lebanon, because of the danger that this poses. sure of their lives.
The regime’s violations of international laws, especially the Vienna Treaty Regulating Diplomatic Relations, its continuous tampering with the security and stability of Lebanon, and its attempt to destroy civil peace and push the Lebanese society into civil war, requires all Syrian, Lebanese and international political forces to join hands to prevent the regime from continuing this criminal approach.
The UNHCR, the United Nations, the European Union countries, and in particular the French Republic, demand a clear stance against these practices and are also required to provide the necessary legal protection for all Syrian refugees, ensure their security in Lebanon and prevent their deportation or kidnapping by the regime or the militias collaborating with it.
