Lebanese authorities will deport on Monday six Syrian men arrested near their country's embassy last week, which might put them at risk of death and torture, their lawyer and a global rights group said.
Five of the arrested men were former rebel fighters from the southern Deraa province, where the Syrian uprising originated. They may face retaliation from regime forces should they be deported, lawyer Mohammed Sablouh told The National.
The rebel province has come under heavy assault by the Syrian army since July despite nominally being under government control.
“If we turn these men to the Syrian regime, we are signing their death sentence,” Mr Sablouh said by phone.
Lebanon’s General Security told Mr Sablouh the men had 24 hours to secure passports and visas to a third country or face deportation.
Four of the six men were heading to the Syrian embassy to collect their passports when they were arrested. The remaining two were in the process of securing travel documents prior to their arrest. None of them currently have access to their passports.
“I am pleading with the prosecutor general not to implement this decision,” Mr Sablouh said.
The men arrived in Beirut last month and went missing near the Syrian embassy last week after going there to collect their passports to travel to a third country.
The Lebanese army later said it had arrested Syrians with matching initials to those who disappeared, for illegally entering the country.
Mr Sablouh said the Syrian embassy had set a “trap” for at least four of his clients who received calls to collect their passports and were kidnapped before reaching the embassy.
He filed a complaint on behalf of his clients on Friday for arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearance, detention without any legal justification, and evidence of torture.
Mr Sablouh sent The National a copy of the complaint, in which four of his clients say that men with Syrian accents blindfolded and abducted them last Friday, 50 metres from the embassy. They say they were interrogated in an unknown location, and then handed to Lebanese authorities afterwards.
Lebanon was under Syria's hegemony for nearly 30 years. The Syrian government still has allies in Lebanon, including the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The group has fought alongside government forces and helped President Bashar Al Assad retake most of the country after 10 years of civil war.
“The Syrian regime set a trap for these men and when word got out they hid behind the Lebanese army,” Mr Sablouh says.
When contacted for comment, the Syrian embassy expressed surprise at the arrests last week and denied any involvement.
General Security could not be reached for comment.
Mr Sablouh said at least one of the men, a former armed group leader Toufic Fayez Al Haji, was subjected to beatings.
His nephew Mohamad Taysir Al Haji confirmed to The National from Turkey reports of imminent deportation and pleaded for help.
Mr Sablouh also said the Lebanese authorities denied his clients their rights to have access to a lawyer during interrogation.
“Their rights have been completely disregarded,” he said. “They are in grave danger.”
The Amnesty International rights group, meanwhile, urged Lebanese authorities to refrain from deporting the men back to Syria, a move they said would be a “serious violation of Lebanon’s international obligations”.
“No part of Syria is safe for returns, and these men must be protected,” Lynn Maalouf of the group said.
Defence review at a glance
• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”
• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems
• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.
• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%
• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade
• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
SPECS
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The%20Afghan%20connection
%3Cp%3EThe%20influx%20of%20talented%20young%20Afghan%20players%20to%20UAE%20cricket%20could%20have%20a%20big%20impact%20on%20the%20fortunes%20of%20both%20countries.%20Here%20are%20three%20Emirates-based%20players%20to%20watch%20out%20for.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EHassan%20Khan%20Eisakhil%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMohammed%20Nabi%20is%20still%20proving%20his%20worth%20at%20the%20top%20level%20but%20there%20is%20another%20reason%20he%20is%20raging%20against%20the%20idea%20of%20retirement.%20If%20the%20allrounder%20hangs%20on%20a%20little%20bit%20longer%2C%20he%20might%20be%20able%20to%20play%20in%20the%20same%20team%20as%20his%20son%2C%20Hassan%20Khan.%20The%20family%20live%20in%20Ajman%20and%20train%20in%20Sharjah.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMasood%20Gurbaz%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20opening%20batter%2C%20who%20trains%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Academy%2C%20is%20another%20player%20who%20is%20a%20part%20of%20a%20famous%20family.%20His%20brother%2C%20Rahmanullah%2C%20was%20an%20IPL%20winner%20with%20Kolkata%20Knight%20Riders%2C%20and%20opens%20the%20batting%20with%20distinction%20for%20Afghanistan.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOmid%20Rahman%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20fast%20bowler%20became%20a%20pioneer%20earlier%20this%20year%20when%20he%20became%20the%20first%20Afghan%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE.%20He%20showed%20great%20promise%20in%20doing%20so%2C%20too%2C%20playing%20a%20key%20role%20in%20the%20senior%20team%E2%80%99s%20qualification%20for%20the%20Asia%20Cup%20in%20Muscat%20recently.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
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2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
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4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Power: 141bhp
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Company%20profile
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
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Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
The biog
Family: Parents and four sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah
A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls
Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction
Favourite holiday destination: Italy
Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning
Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes
Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure
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