The cases of Syrian detainees in Lebanon and missing Lebanese in Syria top the understandings being reached between the two countries, starting with a Syrian Foreign Ministry delegation’s visit to Beirut on September 1, followed by a Lebanese government delegation’s trip to Damascus for follow-up.
Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar said that the committees formed after the Syrian delegation’s visit to Beirut held a meeting in Damascus on Monday evening, September 8.
On September 1, a Syrian delegation visited Beirut to discuss pending issues between the two capitals, most notably the fate of Syrians detained in Lebanese prisons and border demarcation. The delegation met Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri.
The two sides agreed to form two committees: one to determine the fate of around 2,000 Syrians held in Lebanese prisons, and another to locate Lebanese citizens missing in Syria for years, while also addressing border settlements, according to the Associated Press.
The Lebanese Justice Ministry said the committees held their first meetings in Damascus, discussing sensitive security and judicial issues, especially Lebanese missing persons in Syrian prisons and Syrians detained in Lebanon.
The state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) described the meeting as “preliminary,” involving Syria’s Ministry of Justice and security committees from both countries, during which detainee conditions and related bilateral agreements were discussed.
Syrian Demands
During the second meeting, the Syrian side, led by Mohammad Reda Jalkhi, head of the National Authority for the Missing, requested the handover of all Syrians detained in Lebanese prisons. It also sought access to their judicial files, charges, and verdicts against those convicted, according to Lebanon’s al-Modon newspaper, citing unnamed sources present at the meeting.
The Lebanese delegation sensed a “Syrian push to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” whether through reviving old initiatives or via a verbal understanding between the two justice ministers.
The Lebanese side expressed its commitment to applying the law to resolve the matter.
According to al-Modon, the Syrian delegation showed particular interest in three detainees, one of whom allegedly lost fingers during interrogation, another who remained in custody despite completing his sentence, and a third said to have been tortured during questioning. The Lebanese delegation denied all these claims.
The Syrian side stressed the priority of releasing Syrians detained for opposing Bashar al-Assad’s government, whom it described as “prisoners of conscience,” specifically naming detainees from the al-Nusra Front and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.
The Lebanese delegation countered that most detainees accused of belonging to al-Nusra had fought against the Lebanese army between 2014 and 2017, especially in the Arsal barrens. Lebanon insisted that those prisoners could not be handed over before completing their sentences.
According to the report, the Syrian side replied: “Anyone proven to have fought the Lebanese army is considered as having fought the Syrian army, and we will not demand their handover. What we want are political prisoners who openly opposed Bashar al-Assad and Ba’ath rule.”
Roumieh Prison, Lebanon’s Largest
The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) estimated the number of Syrian detainees in Lebanon at around 2,000, including about 190 arrested for participating in the Syrian uprising.
Roumieh Prison, northeast of Beirut, is Lebanon’s largest. It holds more than 4,000 inmates, despite a capacity of just 1,200, resulting in overcrowding and poor services.
Syrian detainees there suffer from a lack of healthcare, malnutrition, and delayed trials. Over the past two years, several hunger strikes have been staged by Syrians to protest detention conditions.
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