Syria to release eight Jordanian detainees following Kingdom’s protest

AMMAN — The Syrian authorities will release eight Jordanians detained in Syria, the Syrian embassy in Amman announced on Monday.

The Foreign Ministry said it received an official notice from the embassy confirming the Syrian authorities' decision to release eight out of more than 30 Jordanians arrested in the northern neighbour, a ministry statement said.

Ministry Spokesperson Sufian Qudah said that the notice included the names of the Jordanians to be released, which included three citizens who have been detained since the reopening of the border crossing in mid-October, four who have been arrested before the reopening and one Jordanian who has already been released, and measures for whose return to the Kingdom are being processed by the Jordanian Embassy in Damascus. 

This decision has been taken days after the ministry summoned Syrian Chargé d’Affaires in Amman Ayman Alloush for the fourth time and demanded that the Syrian authorities release the Jordanian citizens who have been held without providing clear reasons for their arrest.

Qudah expressed the Kingdom’s gratitude for the Syrian government’s response, stressing that the ministry is continuing to follow up with Damascus, through the Jordanian Embassy and the Syrian embassy in Amman, to release the other detainees and identify the locations where they are being held, as well as allowing them to receive visits from the diplomatic mission of their country, as stipulated in international laws applicable in such cases.

Since the reopening of borders in mid-October, Syrian authorities have arrested more than 30 Jordanians, who, according to the ministry, head to Syria for tourism and are arrested by Syrian authorities without providing clear reasons for their arrest.

Alloush pledged last week to follow up on the issue with his country’s concerned authorities and to provide an answer within the coming days, expressing his understanding for the “legitimate” Jordanian request.

According to the official letter, the released detainees are: Zeyad Adrah, Yazeed Masaeed, Ashraf Sharaa, Hazim Masaeed, Bilal Dawoud, Rami Abu Younis, Essa Ougaili and Bashar Rabii.