Dozens of LGBTQIA+ individuals, including transgender women, have been detained by the Syrian regime after returning to Syria from Lebanon following the recent military escalation there.Reports and testimonies from one of the survivors, received by Seen for Gender and Sexual Justice, indicate that the detained individuals are subjected to torture in police stations, including severe beatings and forcing transgender women to shave their hair.

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The detention centers are overcrowded, withmen and trans women, they’re being forced to confess to things they’re not involved in” (a testimony received by SEEN). Syrians are being forced to return amid escalating Israeli military operations in Lebanon, along with the discrimination they face in humanitarian responses due to Lebanon’s economic deterioration. Lebanese government practices also racially prioritize assistance based on nationality, and many shelters in Beirut refuse to accommodate them.

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Since the beginning of the war in Lebanon, more than 200,000 Syrian refugees have returned to Syria under pressure from the circumstances, and journalistic reports have documented the detention of many returnees. This wave of arrests coincides with continued promotion by Lebanese and international governmental and non-governmental bodies of narratives about “safety” in Syria, coupled with changes in global migration policies that directly impact Syrians, including LGBTQIA+ individuals.

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