The Syrian Future Movement followed with grave concern the events of Monday morning, April 20, 2026, when families of Syrian detainees held a peaceful sit-in in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates building in Damascus. They were demanding information on the fate of their sons who were transferred from prisons run by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq. This transfer was part of a large-scale operation conducted earlier this year under the supervision of the International Coalition.
These operations involved thousands of detainees of various nationalities, including hundreds of Syrians, whose legal and humanitarian status and places of detention remain shrouded in secrecy.
The Syrian Future Movement expresses its full solidarity with the families of the Syrian detainees in their peaceful demonstration and affirms that the issue of the missing and detained is a paramount national issue, representing a deep wound in the conscience of the Syrian nation. The transfer of these detainees outside Syrian territory, without prior and transparent coordination with the Syrian government, and without informing their families of their fate or the nature of the charges against them, constitutes a serious legal and humanitarian problem that contradicts the principles of justice and human rights.
While noting that some of these detainees faced fabricated charges before their deportation, we affirm that their trial within Syria is the inherent right of the Syrian state and a necessity to ensure the achievement of full and swift justice.
The Syrian Future Movement reiterates its firm and principled stances in defending the rights of detainees, the missing, and their families, which it has published on its official website. Among the most prominent of these stances is:
- Our statement entitled “The Tent of Truth in Yarmouk Camp” (dated April 25, 2025): In it, we affirmed our full support for the struggle of the families of detainees and the forcibly disappeared, and we considered the “Tent of Truth” to remain a symbol of steadfastness until justice is achieved and all those involved in the crimes of enforced disappearance are held accountable.
We emphasized that this demonstration represents the beginning of a long road of peaceful action to push the international community to assume its responsibilities. - Our statement, titled “Friday of Detainees in Assad’s Prisons” (January 22, 2024): We participated in the events of “Detainees’ Week in Syria,” during which we stressed that responsibility towards detainees does not mean remembering them only one day a year, but rather it must be at the forefront of our priorities, especially for those currently leading the political process.
- Our statement regarding “The Release of Female Detainees in Idlib Prisons” (December 28, 2024): We condemned the detention of peaceful women and demanded that the new Syrian administration release them immediately, emphasizing that respect for freedom of peaceful expression and human rights is the foundation of a modern civil state.
The Syrian Future Movement views the issue of detainees as one of the most prominent tests of the transitional phase and a fundamental pillar for building trust between citizens and the state.
We believe that the continued uncertainty surrounding the fate of thousands of Syrian detainees, and the state’s denial of its right to try them by transferring them outside its territory, threatens the path of transitional justice and national reconciliation.
We affirm that the new Syria will not be built on the ruins of injustice, but rather on the foundations of truth and accountability. Uncovering the fate of every detainee is an indispensable step to turning the page on the painful past and opening a new chapter based on dignity and equal citizenship.
Based on the above, the Syrian Future Movement recommends the following:
- We demand that the Syrian government form an independent and transparent commission of inquiry to investigate the transfer of detainees to Iraq, determine legal and administrative responsibilities for this process, and ensure that it is not repeated.
- We propose that the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs take immediate and intensive diplomatic action with the Iraqi government to obtain accurate lists of the names of the transferred detainees, their places of detention, the charges against them, and the legal arrangements for their repatriation or for overseeing their trials.
- The necessity of addressing the United Nations, the Security Council, and the International Committee of the Red Cross, and appealing to the “International Coalition” that led the transfer operations, to provide transparent information about these operations, reveal the fate of all detainees, and guarantee the protection of their rights.
- The official declaration of the Syrian state’s adherence to its inherent right to try any Syrian detainee, wherever they may be, for crimes committed on Syrian territory, in accordance with Syrian and international laws, and working to repatriate them or establish mechanisms for the Syrian judiciary to participate in their trials.
- The allocation of psychological, social, and economic support programs for the families of detainees, who live in a state of constant anxiety, anticipation, and pain, and considering them a fundamental priority for the state during the transitional phase.
The Syrian Future Movement reiterates its support for every Syrian family anxiously awaiting a word from the state informing them of the fate of their missing loved ones, or a glimpse of a relative.
We affirm that the issue of detainees is a testament to the new Syrian state’s commitment to human rights and transitional justice. We call on the Syrian government and all concerned parties to turn this painful sit-in into a real incentive to bring about a radical change in dealing with this thorny issue, because there can be no peace, no stability, and no state-building without first revealing the truth.
