Syrian refugees forcibly deported from Lebanon face risks of torture, arrest, persecution and conscription by the Syrian government upon return, Amnesty International has warned. 

The global rights group said it had recorded at least four cases in which Syrians were arrested following their deportation from Lebanon, in addition to separate cases of conscription.

"There is absolutely no excuse for the Lebanese state to violate its international legal obligation by summarily returning refugees to a country where they fear persecution," said Aya Majzoub, Amnesty's deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.

According to Amnesty and news agency Reuters, who cited aid workers, rights advocates and witnesses, the deportations were carried out by the Lebanese army.

Family and friends of the deported migrants told Reuters their loved ones were being being held by the Syrian army's Fourth Division – headed by President Bashar al-Assad's brother and has been sanctioned for human rights violations.

Amnesty has slammed Lebanon's deportations as a "clear violation" of international law under the principle of "non-refoulement," which bans countries from forcibly returning individuals to a country where they risk persecution.

Lebanese army raids homes

In mid-April, the Lebanese Armed Forces raided houses occupied by Syrian families in different locations across Lebanon and deported dozens of irregular refugees and those with expired residency cards to Syria, Amnesty reported on April 24.

The rights group cited a man named Mohammed who managed to contact his brother who was deported by the Lebanese army. The brother told him the army drove the refugees directly to the border and handed them over to the Syrian army. Many of them were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), he said.

Lebanon is home to some 800,000 Syrians registered with the UNHCR who have fled since the war broke out in 2011. Lebanese authorities say the real number of Syrians in Lebanon is two million.

One refugee who requested anonymity told Reuters he and his three brothers were detained in a raid on a camp in Lebanon in late April because his brothers did not have legal residency. The brothers were then deported.

Detained in Syria

"They managed to get in touch with me from inside Syria, saying they were being held by the Fourth Division. I still don't know if they're alright," he told Reuters.

Citing a senior humanitarian source, Reuters reported that more than 450 Syrians were arrested in more than a dozen raids by the Lebanese army or at ad hoc checkpoints in April. Over 130 were deported.

Amnesty's Majzoub said it is "extremely alarming to see the army deciding the fate of refugees, without respecting due process or allowing those facing deportation to challenge their removal in court or seek protection."

She added: "No refugee should be sent back to a place where their life will be at risk."

According to Majzoub, the April deportations of Syrian migrants were followed by a wave of hate speech, restrictive measures by Lebanese municipalities accommodating Syrians, and comments by officials that created a "coercive environment" that pressured refugees to leave. 

The Syrian government and the Lebanese army did not respond to Reuters' request for comment regarding the deportations.

With Reuters and AFP