The first batch of Syrian prisoners previously held in Lebanese prisons arrived at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing (on the Syria-Lebanon border near Damascus) as part of an agreement between the two countries to transfer convicted Syrians to complete their sentences in their home country.
Eyad Hazzaa, chargé d’affaires at the Syrian embassy in Lebanon, told the Syrian state news agency SANA on Tuesday, March 17, that the first batch includes 136 prisoners. He added that the remaining prisoners will be handed over later after official procedures are completed.
Hazzaa said implementing the agreement reflects the “depth of relations between the two countries,” adding that the Syrian government is keen to “remove obstacles and improve the conditions of Syrians abroad and inside Syria.”
He added that the Syrian state will continue working to ensure a dignified life for prisoners and their families, whether inside Syria or abroad.
For his part, Syrian Justice Ministry representative Namour Ahmad al-Namr said the agreement applies only to prisoners against whom final judicial rulings have been issued by the Lebanese judiciary. He added that the enforcement of sentences will proceed under applicable Syrian laws, in line with the treatment applied to those sentenced by Syrian courts.
Al-Namr also said there are other arrangements to address the situations of different categories of prisoners outside the scope of the agreement.
Prisoner transfer agreement
On January 30, the Lebanese cabinet approved the agreement between the two countries, which stipulates the transfer of convicted persons from the country where the sentence was issued to their country of nationality.
Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said the agreement covers more than 300 Syrian prisoners in Lebanon. He added that prisoners who have spent more than ten years in Lebanese prisons, equivalent to about seven actual years, will complete the remainder of their sentences in Syria.
According to a draft of the agreement published by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, it aims to strengthen cooperation between the two sides in criminal matters and facilitate the social rehabilitation of prisoners, while adhering to the principles of sovereignty, equality, reciprocity, and non-interference in internal affairs.
The agreement also stipulates that only prisoners who hold the nationality of the state enforcing the sentence, and not the nationality of the state where the ruling was issued, may be transferred. A transfer request may be submitted by the prisoner or their legal representative, and either state may also submit a request to the other party.
The move comes as part of efforts by both governments to ease pressure on Lebanese prisons and settle the status of Syrian prisoners, while taking their humanitarian rights into account and facilitating their return to their families in Syria, in what officials from both sides described as “joint judicial and humanitarian cooperation.”
The Syrian Network for Human Rights estimated the number of Syrian detainees in Lebanon’s Roumieh prison at around 2,000, including about 190 detainees held over their participation in the Syrian revolution.
On the other hand, there are no official estimates of the number of missing Lebanese in Syria, but the Association of Lebanese Detainees in Syrian Prisons estimates the number at 622 missing persons.
Meanwhile, former Lebanese Justice Minister Henry Khoury submitted in December 2024 a list containing more than 6,500 names of Lebanese missing in Syria.
