Lebanese cabinet approves agreement to repatriate 300 Syrian prisoners

The Lebanese government on Friday approved an agreement to transfer around 300 Syrian prisoners from Lebanese jails to their home country, after months of talks over the issue, which had caused tensions between the two sides.

The issue of prisoners has been a sore point as the neighbouring countries seek to recalibrate relations following the ouster of longtime Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. A key obstacle to warming relations has been the fate of over 2,000 Syrians in Lebanese prisons, including some 800 held over attacks and shootings, many without trial.

Damascus had asked Beirut to hand them over to continue their prison terms in Syria, but Lebanese judicial officials said Beirut would not release any attackers, and that each case must be studied and resolved separately.

The deal approved Friday, which comes after months of negotiations between judicial and security officials from both countries, appeared to resolve that tension.

Syria's justice or foreign minister is expected to ink the deal, which "will be signed in Beirut next week," Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri told reporters.

The treaty would see Lebanon hand over around 300 Syrian convicts, including prisoners convicted of serious crimes committed on Lebanese soil, such as murder, who have served at least ten years in detention. Those who have not yet been convicted will not be released.

"The agreement is clear, it specifies only those convicted," human rights lawyer Nabil al-Halabi told The New Arab. He said there were currently no plans by the Lebanese government to release more prisoners. 

The deal stipulates that prisoners must consent to be transferred to Syria, still reeling under more than 14 years of conflict.

Both governments have indicated that amendments remain possible, depending on legal and political developments in each country.

The receiving state – Syria – will assume responsibility for transport and custody costs after the handover.

Lebanese jails hold around 2,600 Syrian detainees - around a third of the total prison population - and about 70 percent of them are in pre‑trial detention. Syria’s new Islamist-led authorities claim many were detained for opposing the Assad regime's rule.

Hundreds of prisoners, accused of "terrorism" or related offences, have been brought before Lebanon's military courts.

Friday's agreement marks a significant step forward in judicial cooperation following repeated rounds of talks between Beirut and Damascus over the past year. Recent negotiations held in Beirut were described by local media as more constructive than earlier discussions that had stalled over legal and political disagreements.

In addition to seeking to mend historically fraught ties with Syria, the agreement aims to ease pressure on Lebanon’s overcrowded prison system while establishing a durable legal framework for handling similar cases in the future.

Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos said other issues remain to be resolved between the two countries, including the fate of Lebanese believed to have been disappeared into Syrian prisons during Assad’s rule, and the demarcation of the border between the two countries.

Lebanon and Syria have a complicated history with grievances on both sides.

Many Lebanese remember the decades-long occupation of their country by Syrian regime forces that ended in 2005, and several Lebanese political parties accuse the Assad regime of being behind, or assisting in, a string of assassinations that targeted prominent Lebanese officials.

Many Syrians resent the role played by Lebanese Shia militant group Hezbollah in Syria's civil war, in which it backed the Assad regime. Damascus has repeatedly requested that Beirut hand over Assad-era officials who reportedly sought refuge in Lebanon when the regime was toppled.

'Lebanese prisoners facing injustice'

The prospect of a deal had sparked controversy inside Lebanon, with Lebanese inmates at the country's central prison in Roumieh launching a hunger strike this month over "selective justice" as Syrian detainees face transfer, while Lebanese prisoners remain in prolonged detention.

Human rights concerns, including severe overcrowding and poor medical care in Lebanon's prisons, have long complicated the issue and raised fears that partial solutions could deepen tensions between Syrian and Lebanese inmates.

During Friday's cabinet session, families of Lebanese prisoners and detainees staged a sit-in in Riad al-Solh Square near the government palace, calling on authorities to accelerate trials and resolve their relatives' legal cases. They also stressed the need to improve prison conditions and to pass a general amnesty law.

Some of these prisoners include men who joined Sunni militant groups fighting against Assad in Syria. Some of the protesters called for the release of Sunni cleric Ahmad al-Assir, imprisoned for his role in the 2013 Sidon clashes that killed 18 Lebanese army soldiers.

Commenting on the agreement to transfer Syrian prisoners, lawyer Nabil al-Halabi told The New Arab that the deal "reflected a consensus within Lebanon's ruling political establishment aimed at keeping the case of Lebanese Sunni detainees - who share the same cases as their Syrian counterparts - effectively hostage inside Lebanese prisons."

When asked whether these Lebanese Sunni detainees were convicted of attacking Lebanese security forces, the lawyer said: "All of them are 'politically' accused of terrorism. In reality, however, they are prisoners of conscience who were demonised during a period when all Lebanese state institutions were under the influence of Hezbollah and the Assad regime."