Many Syrian detainees are held for alleged membership in jihadist or armed groups that were opposed to Assad [Rami Alsayed/NurPhoto via Getty]
Lebanon is ready to repatriate about one third of the more than 2,000 Syrian detainees in its overcrowded prisons, a Lebanese judicial source said on Thursday.
The move comes as Lebanon and Syria seek a new start in bilateral ties after the December fall of longtime Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.
“There are more than 700 Syrian detainees and convicts whose files are finalised and who meet the conditions for extradition,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity, without specifying when the process could be completed.
In January, Lebanon’s then-caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati visited Damascus and met with Syria’s interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa. The two leaders agreed that the Syrian prisoners should be repatriated.
According to a security source, there are “more than 2,100 Syrian detainees” in Lebanon’s prisons, many of whom are awaiting trial.
Syrians represent about 30 percent of Lebanon’s prison population, the source added.
Hundreds of them, accused of “terrorism” or related offences including attacks on Lebanese forces, have been brought before military courts.
Other Syrian detainees are held for alleged membership in jihadist or armed groups that were opposed to Assad.
An Islamist-led offensive toppled him last December.
One prisoner, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said that he, like many others, was arrested “on political grounds”.
The prisoner said he was part of the rebel Free Syrian Army, one of the main opposition factions during the country’s 13-year civil war made up of mostly army defectors and other opponents of the Assad governments.
The security source said that prisoners, Lebanese and foreigners alike, were experiencing harsh conditions.
“Lebanese and foreign prisoners live in difficult conditions due to limited food rations and medical services, the economic crisis in Lebanon, and overcrowding in their cells,” said the source.
In February, dozens of Syrian detainees in a Lebanese prison launched a hunger strike to demand a resolution for their cases following Assad’s fall.
Lebanon also hosts about 1.5 million Syrian refugees, according to the authorities, about half of whom are registered with the United Nations.
They fled the neighbouring country during the war that broke out after the Assad government’s repression of pro-democracy protests in 2011.
