[SAYDNAYA] Committees representing several Christian churches in the town of Saydnaya, north of Damascus, announced the cancellation of public celebrations linked to this year’s religious holidays, saying that services would be limited to prayers inside churches.
The decision was taken in protest over what the committees described as the continued detention of several local residents and a worsening security situation.
The announcement came in a joint statement issued by committees representing the Greek Orthodox, Syriac Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic communities in Saydnaya, in coordination with clergy members George Najmeh, Fanouel Najjar, and Taher Youssef.
The statement said the holiday season was underway while several residents of Saydnaya remained in custody without legal justification or access to their legal rights, according to the committees.
It added that local representatives had repeatedly appealed to security and judicial authorities and had received promises that the detainees would be released because no charges had been proven against them. However, the statement said they remain in detention.
The committees also criticized what they described as deliberate mistreatment of Saydnaya residents at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing with Lebanon. They said some travelers were held for hours, photographed, and subjected to additional checks before being allowed to continue, without consideration for elderly people or women.
The statement also referred to continued incitement and threats against the town’s residents on social media, as well as online campaigns targeting young people from Saydnaya. The committees linked those developments to deteriorating security conditions and the spread of thefts and kidnappings in recent weeks.
As a result, the committees said they had canceled public celebrations for the Feast of the Transfiguration, the Feast of the Assumption, the Feast of the Cross, and celebrations associated with Saint Sophia, while allowing prayers to continue inside churches.
They said the decision would remain in effect until the detainees were released, abducted residents returned, and what they described as baseless accusations against the town’s young people came to an end.
The committees called for all files related to abuses to be opened and for those responsible to be held accountable, regardless of their affiliations. They said justice must apply to everyone and that genuine reconciliation requires a state based on law, citizenship, and freedom. The statement added that Saydnaya residents would exercise their constitutional rights to express their demands peacefully and lawfully.
Syrian authorities did not immediately comment on the allegations in the statement. The number of detainees and the details of the reported kidnappings and thefts could not be independently verified.
