The seven Syrian nationals belong to a larger group of persons who were arrested in Lebanon between January 2006 and November 2007. They were sentenced to between five and seven years of imprisonment based on confessions extracted under torture by the Beirut Military Court after a grossly unfair trial, which makes their detention arbitrary in the first place.

As a new Lebanese law shortening the prison year from twelve to nine months came into force on 2 April 2012, the men's sentences abruptly finished that day. In early April 2012, the group was transferred to the General Security's retention facility in Adlieh district of Beirut in preparation of their expulsion to their country of origin, Syria. The following three detainees were expelled to Syria in May 2012 and are currently believed to be held in the Syrian Military Intelligence's Palestine detention centre in Al Qazzaz, Damascus:

1. Mr Moaz Abdelghani Shousha was arbitrarily arrested in Tripoli, Lebanon, on 4 January 2006. On 22 March 2010, the 31-year-old was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, which he served in Roumieh prison in Lebanon. After being transferred to the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut, Mr Shousha was expelled to Syria on 15 May 2012.

2. Mr Mohammed Abderrazzak Al Wafaei was arbitrarily arrested in Beirut on 3 January 2006. On 22 March 2010, the 28-year-old was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment, which he served in Roumieh prison in Lebanon. After being transferred to the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut, Mr Al Wafaei was expelled to Syria on 23 May 2012.

3. Mr Ahmed Mohammed Asili was arbitrarily arrested on 19 November 2007 and was sentenced by a military court to five years of imprisonment on 6 September 2010, a sentence which he served in Roumieh prison in Lebanon. After being transferred to the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut, the 24-year-old was expelled to Syria on 19 May 2012.

Following their expulsion, the three men were taken into custody by the Syrian Military Intelligence. As this puts them at high risk of torture, Alkarama today sent an urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture as well as other relevant UN Special Procedures to inform them of their situation. We call on the Syrian authorities to immediately release the men or put an end to their unlawful detention by giving them the possibility to freely communicate with their families and lawyers and by providing information on the reasons for their ongoing detention. If there are no charges to be laid against the three men, we consider their immediate and unconditional release to be the only appropriate solution.

The four men remaining in the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut who face imminent expulsion to Syria, where they risk torture, ill-treatment and unacceptable detention conditions, are:

4. Mr Bora Mohammed Fouad was arbitrarily arrested in Beirut on 3 January 2006. The 38-year-old was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment on 22 March 2010, a sentence which he served in Roumieh prison in Lebanon until he was transferred to the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut, at the beginning of April 2012.

5. Mr Mohammed Ahmed Qoja was arbitrarily arrested in Beirut on 3 January 2006. On 22 March 2010, the 28-year-old was sentenced to seven years of imprisonment a sentence which he served in Roumieh prison in Lebanon until he was transferred to the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut, at the beginning of April 2012.

6. Mr Youssef Ibrahim Darwish was arbitrarily arrested on 5 October 2006 and was subsequently sentenced by a military court to five years of imprisonment. The 32-year-old served his prison term in Roumieh prison in Lebanon until he was transferred to the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut, at the beginning of April 2012.

7. Mr Mohammad Abdelrahim Abdelrahim was arbitrarily arrested on 19 October 2007. On 6 September 2010, the 29-year-old was sentenced by a military court to five years of imprisonment, a sentence which he served in Roumieh prison until he was transferred to the General Security's retention centre in Adlieh district in Beirut, at the beginning of April 2012.