The Syrian Ministry of Justice announced on Tuesday that an official delegation, headed by Minister Mazhar al-Wais, had arrived in Lebanon for an official visit. According to a statement posted on the ministry’s official Telegram channel, the visit aims to explore ways to strengthen cooperation in order to support joint efforts to lift injustice against detainees and achieve justice while safeguarding their dignity and rights.
The ministry’s media office told Syria’s Ikhbariyah channel that the talks with the Lebanese side “made significant progress amid an atmosphere of seriousness and cooperation,” as part of the government’s efforts to address the issue of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon.
The office added that the Syrian delegation “found the Lebanese side to have a clear understanding of the sensitivity of this issue and its humanitarian and legal dimensions,” noting that discussions covered the conditions of detainees, mechanisms for joint follow-up, and data exchange to ensure fair solutions “that preserve the dignity and rights of detainees in accordance with the law.”
It also stated that the Lebanese side “received assurances from the Syrian delegation of full cooperation regarding all information related to Syrian detainees.”
The ministry expressed hope that this step would serve as “a gateway to sustainable institutional cooperation between the two countries, paving the way for real progress and ending the suffering of many Syrian families.”
In this context, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said that the Lebanese government is working with its Syrian counterpart on a judicial agreement concerning Syrian prisoners.
For his part, Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar said that Lebanon is on the verge of signing an agreement with Syria on this matter, stressing that it would not include those involved in battles against the Lebanese army.
Nassar added that the discussions also touched on assassination cases that took place during the rule of the deposed Bashar al-Assad regime.
Meanwhile, Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais said that Damascus had requested Beirut hand over fugitives from justice affiliated with the former regime, confirming that both sides have made significant progress in drafting the clauses of a judicial cooperation agreement based on respect for the law and the sovereignty of both nations.
Earlier, Lebanese Interior Minister Ahmad al-Hajjar had stated, prior to the arrival of the Syrian delegation, that Lebanon would hold dedicated meetings with the Syrian officials to discuss the issue of prisoners, affirming his government’s full readiness to cooperate with Syria in this regard.
A few days ago, the Director of the Department of Arab Affairs at the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammad Taha al-Ahmad, revealed that an agreement had been reached to hand over Syrian prisoners to their home country, with the exception of those who committed crimes that resulted in “innocent blood,” as he put it.
Ahmad confirmed in a statement to Ikhbariyah that President Ahmad al-Sharaa is paying great attention to this file, and that the Lebanese side showed positive cooperation during recent meetings. He noted that most Syrian prisoners in Lebanon are held at Roumieh Prison and that many of them were falsely accused during the rule of the former regime.
He added that the visit of the Syrian delegation to Lebanon, led by Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani, is a “historic visit,” being the first since the fall of the previous regime. He explained that it comes as the culmination of a series of meetings and contacts aimed at resolving outstanding issues and strengthening bilateral cooperation.
“The visit had been planned for some time,” Ahmad said, “and the time for it has finally come,” noting that several joint Syrian-Lebanese committees had already discussed multiple issues, foremost among them the case of Syrian detainees in Lebanon.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
