Detention fears for Jordanians at reopened Syria border
Jordanians are cautious about entering Syria by the recently reopened Nassib border crossing after one person was detained for almost two weeks and two others went missing.
Authorities on Tuesday released Jordanian citizen Yacoub Al Aqrabawi, who was arrested at the crossing on November 1, the Jordanian Foreign Ministry told The National.
Mr Al Aqrabawi’s detention and the disappearance of the two other Jordanians prompted officials to warn against travel to Syria.
But a foreign ministry source said Mr Al Aqrabawi had been held due to a “private issue” linked to an “Interpol warrant issued by the UAE”, and not because of problems with the Syrian government.
The Jordanian embassies in Damascus and in Abu Dhabi worked on securing his release, the source said.
“The case had been settled in the Emirates but the Syrian authorities were not aware of this,” he said. “The issue was purely procedural. Once the proper documentation was provided, they let him go.”
Mr Al Aqrabawi, in his late 20s, has returned to Jordan. His mother, who had written a heartfelt message on Facebook on the day he disapeared, did not respond to The National’s requests for comment. Relatives of the two missing Jordanians, from the border town of Ramtha, last week asked for help from local authorities after losing contact with them, the foreign ministry source said.
It remains unclear whether
the men were arrested. “We contacted the Syrian authorities and we are waiting for a response,” said the source.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a monitoring group run by activists, said the two men were arrested by the Syrian government.
The group said that Jordanians were being arrested for “security reasons”.
“That means that they were arrested because they were active in helping Syrian refugees in Jordan or someone close to the regime reported them to Syrian authorities,” said Nour Al Khatib, a member of the group.
Families do not wish to give their names because of fear of retaliation from the Syrian regime, Ms Al Khatib said.
For the Syrian government, which has the upper hand in the eight-year war, the reopening of Nassib last month after a three-year closure represented an essential step towards normalisation of relations with Jordan, an important business partner, and the region.
Tens of thousands of Jordanians have flocked to Syria, eager to buy cheap Syrian goods. Jordanian tour packages to Damascus have started operating again. But these incidents could delay full restoration of ties between the two countries.
Attempts by the Jordanian authorities to downplay Mr Al Aqrabawi’s arrest did not temper fears among Jordanians.
They are looking for confirmation that security has returned to Syria and that Jordanian citizens will not be targeted in retribution for Amman’s refusal to stand with Damascus during the war.
“The deals are good and we all know Damascus. But the real question is, is it safe?” asked Walid Hassan, 70, a Jordanian considering a holiday in Syria.
Their concern also has roots in post-war history. Many Jordanians, particularly those of Palestinian origin, have stories of a relative or a friend who disappeared in Syria before the war, only to re-emerge years later or in some cases not at all.
Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch, said those detained in Syria were at risk of torture or ill treatment.
“Over the years Human Rights Watch has documented widespread torture, starvation, beatings and disease in Syrian government detention facilities,” Mr Coogle said.
Complicating matters was the release of a list of almost 9,000 Jordanians by a Syrian opposition website claiming they were wanted by the regime.
After the news of Mr Al Aqrabawi’s arrest, Syrian opposition website Zaman Al Wasl, which claims to have obtained the archives of the Syrian intelligence in 2015, released a list of 8,845 arrest warrants for Jordanians dating back decades.
The Syrian embassy in Amman has denied the existence of a blacklist of Jordanians, calling the reports a “pack of lies”.