The Syrian Future Movement is following with grave concern the report published by the British newspaper, the Financial Times, in its January 11, 2026 edition, which reveals a painful historical paradox in the course of the Syrian revolution and its transformations.
The report sheds light on the tragic reality faced by dozens, if not hundreds, of Syrians who supported the revolution against Bashar al-Assad’s regime. They remain detained in Roumieh prison in Lebanon under harsh humanitarian conditions, despite the regime’s fall in 2024 and the rebels’ advance towards Damascus, which led to the release of thousands of political prisoners inside Syria.
According to the report, the number of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon is approximately 2,500, the majority of whom are held on criminal charges. However, around 200 of them are detained due to their connections to the Syrian revolution, whether through membership in opposition factions, support for the Syrian revolution, or their former affiliation with Jabhat al-Nusra, which later became Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
The report describes the conditions inside the prison as deplorable, including severe overcrowding, torture, medical neglect, and the spread of diseases such as scabies and tuberculosis, which have led to the deaths of at least 46 prisoners since 2022. The report also notes the stalled negotiations between Damascus and Beirut since September 2025, due to disagreements over the definition of “political prisoner,” border demarcation, the return of refugees, and the conditions for retrials, despite Lebanon’s release of 109 Syrians since then, including 22 political prisoners, to alleviate overcrowding.
The Syrian Future Movement emphasizes the necessity of not forgetting these detainees, who were an integral part of the Syrian people’s struggle for freedom and dignity. Their only crime was standing up against tyranny in their country, and today they represent a bleeding wound in the memory of the revolution.
We call upon the Syrian people, in all their diversity, not to forget them and to keep their memory alive in the collective consciousness. They are living martyrs awaiting justice.
The Syrian Future Movement calls upon Syrian civil society, political forces, and the transitional government not to allow these detainees to be forgotten or neglected, but rather to exert serious and sustained efforts to secure their release through diplomatic and legal pressure, and to prioritize their case in Syrian foreign policy.
We emphasize that their case must be an integral part of building the new Syrian state, one that guarantees human rights and restores dignity to the victims of tyranny.
The Syrian Future Movement calls upon the Lebanese government to make the issue of Syrian detainees a top priority and to review their sentences in light of the new reality in Syria. We believe that their continued detention is not merely a humanitarian failure, but a direct threat to relations between the two brotherly countries, undermining the historic efforts Lebanon has made in hosting Syrian refugees during the revolution, efforts that have exemplified Arab solidarity. Furthermore, it hinders the building of bridges of trust and future cooperation, and opens the door to unnecessary tensions amidst shared regional challenges.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that transitional justice is the foundation of sustainable peace, and that the release of these detainees is not only a moral obligation but also a political necessity for strengthening stability in the region. We will continue to pursue this matter with all determination, and we call on the international community and human rights organizations to intervene immediately to ensure their release, in order to uphold the principles of human rights and international law.
