Lebanon and Syria ink deal on prisoner handover in bid to start mending ties

Lebanon signs an agreement with Syria to hand some 300 convicts over to Damascus, a move seen as key to helping turn a new page in ties between the countries.

Overcrowded Lebanese prisons hold more than 2,200 Syrians held on various charges. Many of them are still awaiting trial, while hundreds accused of “terrorism” or related offenses, including attacks on Lebanese forces, have been brought before military courts.

Others are in custody for alleged membership in jihadist or armed groups that were opposed to now ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, who was supported by Lebanon’s Hezbollah terror group during the Syrian civil war.

Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais announce the signing of the agreement at a press conference in Beirut.

Wais calls it “an important step on the path to justice in addressing the situation of convicts who have spent a long time in prison and whose cases were among the most complex legally.”

The agreement covers around 300 convicts, while the remaining detainees require “long procedures” before a similar agreement on them can be reached, Wais says.

The deal reinforces “the trust and political will that already exists between the two countries,” he says, expressing hope it would help improve ties.

Lebanese authorities have said that the convicts who meet the requirements, including having spent at least 10 years behind bars, will be handed over to Syria, where they will serve the rest of their sentences.

Mitri tells AFP that cooperation extended beyond the issue of convicts, with officials working to “resolve all common issues that will set bilateral relations right.”

The first step following the deal’s signing would be a cabinet decision to “abolish the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council,” an Assad-era body.

Authorities will also review “unfair agreements concluded during the time of Syrian tutelage in Lebanon, as well as the demarcation of the land and maritime borders,” Mitri adds.