BEIRUT, Sept 7, 2021 (BSS/AFP) - Dozens of Syrians who returned home from

abroad have been subject to detention, disappearance and torture by security
forces, Amnesty International said Tuesday, warning Syria is not yet safe for
repatriation.

   In a report titled "You're going to your death," the rights group
documented a series of violations by security forces against 66 Syrians,
including 13 children, who have returned since 2017.

   Amnesty said the cases proved "that no part of Syria is safe to return
to."

   "Syrian intelligence officers have subjected women, children and men
returning to Syria to unlawful or arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-
treatment including rape and sexual violence, and enforced disappearance,"
the rights group said.

   Among the cases listed, the rights group documented five cases of
returnees who died in detention.

   The fates of 17 others who were forcibly disappeared remain unknown,
Amnesty said.

   The rights group also documented 14 cases of sexual violence committed by
security forces, including seven cases of rape, committed against five women,
a teenage boy and a five-year-old girl.

   "Any government claiming Syria is now safe is wilfully ignoring the
horrific reality on the ground," Amnesty said, calling on European
governments to "immediately halt any practice directly or indirectly forcing
people to return to Syria".

   More than 6.6 million Syrians have sought refuge abroad since the start of
the conflict in 2011, with most resettling in neighbouring countries such as
Turkey and Lebanon.

   Denmark, Sweden, and Turkey have recently upped pressure on refugees to
return home after a decade of war, arguing most of the country is now safe,
Amnesty said.

   The Syrians interviewed by Amnesty include returnees from Lebanon, which
for years has exerted pressure on refugees to return.

   The report cited testimony from a Syrian woman, Alaa, who was arrested
along with her 25-year-old daughter at a border crossing as they came back
from Lebanon.

   The two were detained for five days.

   "They removed my daughter's clothes. They handcuffed her and hung her on
the wall. They beat her. She was totally naked. One put his penis inside her
mouth," the report quoted Alaa as saying.