Lebanon, Syria to sign agreement on transfer of convicted prisoners
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Lebanon and Syria are set to sign on Friday a formal agreement regulating the transfer of convicted prisoners from the country where the sentence was issued to the country of the prisoner’s nationality, the Lebanese Prime Minister’s Office announced.
In a statement published Thursday on the X platform, the Prime Minister’s Office said the signing ceremony will take place at the Grand Serail in Beirut, in the presence of Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, and Justice Minister Adel Nassar.
The statement added that an official Syrian delegation, headed by Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais, will attend the ceremony to formalize the agreement between Beirut and Damascus.
The Lebanese Council of Ministers approved the agreement on Jan. 30, following discussions between the two sides on organizing the legal framework for transferring sentenced individuals to their home country to complete their prison terms.
According to the approved text, the agreement regulates the mechanism for transferring convicted persons from the country where the judicial ruling was issued to the country of which the prisoner holds nationality, ensuring the continued enforcement of the sentence under the receiving state’s legal system.
In this context, Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri said the agreement will allow for the transfer of more than 300 Syrian detainees currently held in Lebanese prisons to Syrian authorities, so they can serve the remainder of their sentences inside Syria.
Mitri explained that the agreement applies to prisoners who have spent more than ten years in Lebanese detention facilities, a period that he said is considered equivalent to approximately seven years of actual imprisonment under the applicable legal framework.
The issue of Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons has been a longstanding concern raised by Lebanese authorities, particularly in relation to overcrowding and judicial coordination between the two countries. Roumieh Prison, Lebanon’s largest detention facility, holds a significant number of Syrian inmates convicted of various offenses.
The signing of the agreement marks a formal step toward institutional cooperation between Beirut and Damascus in judicial matters, following the Lebanese cabinet’s endorsement earlier this year.