Shafaq News/ Lebanese authorities havereleased Shams Duraid al-Assad, granddaughter of Syria’s Rifaat al-Assad, andher mother, Rasha Khazem, a week after their arrest at Beirut Airport for usingforged passports to try to travel abroad, a judicial source reported on Friday.
The source informed Asharq Al-Awsat thatRaed Abou Chakra, a deputy prosecutor general in Mount Lebanon, ordered therelease of the two women on residency bonds after concluding preliminaryinvestigations.
They were charged with “possession and useof forged passports on Lebanese territory,” and the case was referred to BaabdaCriminal Court for trial.
The source explained that their releasecame after they exhausted the maximum allowable period for pre-trial detention.“The offense constitutes a misdemeanor involving the use of forged officialdocuments. The court will deliberate on this basis and issue its rulingaccordingly,” the source said, noting that the court may either settle for timeserved or impose a financial penalty.
Shams al-Assad and Rasha Khazem arerequired to remain in Lebanon until their trial concludes and any subsequentsentence is carried out. The judicial source acknowledged their complex legalpredicament: “After the court’s ruling, Lebanon’s General Security may providetemporary documents enabling them to move within Lebanese territory until apermanent legal solution for their departure is found.”
The primary obstacle for Shams and Rasharemains the lack of valid passports. According to the source, their situationwill persist until new passports are issued, either by Syria’s new authoritiesor the Syrian Embassy in Beirut.
The embassy has ceased issuing documentsfollowing revelations of involvement in forgery, including altering passportvalidity dates.
During their initial detention, both womenadmitted entering Lebanon illegaly due to their expired passports. They alsoclaimed they were unprepared for “the rapid collapse of Bashar al-Assad’sregime,” which disrupted their efforts to obtain new travel documents.
The judicial source confirmed that the twowomen can legally return to Damascus to get new passports, as they face nocharges in Syria.
“Many families linked to the al-Assadregime still live in Syria,” the source stated, adding that Lebanon will notforce them to return unless they choose to.
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