More than a year has passed since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime, yet more than 2,000 Syrian prisoners remain in Lebanese jails, enduring the uncertainty of their fate amid a negotiation process that has yet to reach a conclusion.
Among them are individuals detained on politically motivated charges or for participating in the Syrian revolution, facing harsh humanitarian conditions daily while hoping for official measures that could open the door to their freedom.
Caught between criminal detainees and political prisoners on one hand, and unresolved laws and agreements on the other, Syrian prisoners live in a state of anxiety and anticipation. Their families continue to pressure Lebanese and Syrian authorities to release them—or at least to expedite legal decisions—amid a negotiation process that has produced no tangible results.
The most significant recent development came with the Lebanese government announcing that President Joseph Aoun directed work on a legal framework to allow an agreement with Syria to address the issue. On December 19, Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Metri said the goal was “to strengthen trust and build better relations with Syria, while creating a legal basis to translate this political will and expand cooperation between the two countries.”
Official Efforts Stall
Aoun’s directive followed the failure of a Lebanese judicial delegation’s visit to Damascus on December 11 to reach a judicial agreement regulating the transfer of Syrian prisoners. The failure stemmed from differing approaches to the terms of the draft agreement.
Writer and political analyst Youssef Diab said the last meeting “did not last more than an hour due to Syrian anger over the Lebanese draft, which they considered unfair and containing harsh conditions.”
Diab told Alhurra that “efforts to sign an agreement to transfer around 700 Syrian convicts face fundamental disagreements. Lebanon refuses to hand over those who committed serious crimes, while Damascus insists on receiving all detainees and convicts, with a dispute over the condition that none of the transferred prisoners receive immediate amnesty upon return, which Damascus views as an infringement on its sovereignty.”
Diab added that the meeting ended “without setting a new date, amid discussion of possible regional intervention, with a potential Saudi role in the coming phase.”
In October, Lebanon submitted a first draft during the visit of Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Wais to Beirut. The draft was not accepted by Syria, as its implementation would have required time and approval from the Lebanese parliament, Metri said.
Nevertheless, al-Wais said at a joint press conference with Lebanese Justice Minister Adel Nassar that discussions had progressed, and that the two sides’ positions were close, with matters moving along the correct legal channels. Nassar confirmed that drafting the agreement had made significant steps toward completing its legal text.
Currently, Beirut awaits proposals from Damascus to amend the second draft of the agreement, which will be approved exclusively by the Lebanese Cabinet, according to Metri.
Between Criminals and Political Prisoners
Inside Roumieh Prison, Syrian prisoners on political grounds face a paradoxical reality. While official relations between Beirut and Damascus are being restored and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Ahmad al-Sharaa, these prisoners remain behind bars, accused of belonging to “Jabhat al-Nusra,” which al-Sharaa previously led, or of participating in the Syrian war, in which Hezbollah intervened.
Before December 8, 2024, the date of Assad’s fall, detainees rejected any discussion of transfer to Damascus for fear of an uncertain fate. Today, after shifting circumstances, the scene has changed: they now dream of transfer—not as prisoners, but as individuals returning to a country whose future they helped shape.
Human rights activist and lawyer Diala Shihadeh said most detainees or convicts in political contexts “fought against Assad’s regime or were arrested on suspicion of security-related actions,” noting that “many of these cases were marred by serious violations during investigation and trial, including confessions extracted under torture, leaving many legally wronged or innocent.”
Shihadeh said Syria is unlikely to request the return of individuals convicted of rape in Lebanon, noting that “these crimes cannot be negotiated because they were committed on Lebanese territory, carrying personal rights and penalties that cannot be waived, unless the act occurred in Syria.”
She added that most cases concern “murder or attempted murder in security-related events, such as the Arsal battles or raids capturing armed groups.” She said these cases “cannot be legally evaded; they require careful handling, starting with personal rights and ending with legislation.”
Justice Minister Adel Nassar said the agreement under discussion does not cover those involved in murder or rape.
Legal Differences Complicate Resolution
Human rights organizations have previously raised alarms over the conditions of Syrian prisoners in Lebanese jails, especially Roumieh, citing mistreatment, long pretrial detention, slow trials, medical neglect, and lack of healthcare, leading to the spread of diseases and the death of some prisoners.
Shihadeh distinguished legally between convicted individuals and those awaiting trial. She said, “Lebanese law does not allow the transfer of someone with a final conviction except under an agreement ensuring the remaining sentence is served, with an additional obstacle being unpaid personal rights.” She noted that Damascus “is usually unwilling to receive convicts to serve Lebanese sentences, especially politically charged cases considered unjust, as confirmed by human rights reports and lawyers.”
For those awaiting trial, “transfer is possible under conditions specified in the judicial agreement, primarily that the crime was committed entirely or partially on Syrian territory—a condition not met by many Syrian detainees in Lebanon.”
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Director Rami Abdel Rahman said Syria’s approach is “to recover Syrian citizens held in Lebanese prisons, either to complete their trials or to serve sentences in Syria.”
Abdel Rahman explained that “while Lebanon insists on judicial sovereignty and security concerns, Damascus views these justifications as a pretext to block transfers, giving political and security dimensions precedence over human rights and fair trial guarantees.”
Core Obstacle
Shihadeh said the main obstacle is “purely legal,” citing Lebanese laws governing extradition, particularly the Extradition Law, and a judicial cooperation agreement between the two countries dating back to the 1950s.
She said overcoming legal barriers is possible “through legislation, either by amending existing laws, passing a one-time law, or modifying judicial and security agreements, provided there is political will.”
Diab said the delay in resolving the issue is primarily due to “Lebanese legal and bureaucratic complexities,” noting that current law “does not allow transferring any detainee to another country without passing a special law, which is difficult given the current political division.”
Beyond Legal Texts
Supporters of transferring Syrian prisoners argue that legal barriers are used to delay resolution, citing precedents where legal considerations were bypassed, notably the 2017 deal between Hezbollah and Jabhat al-Nusra, which led to the release of fighters and individuals involved in killing Lebanese soldiers in Arsal in a politically and security-driven settlement.
Abdel Rahman attributed the failure to establish a clear transfer mechanism to the overlap of political, security, and legal factors, saying “the file is managed based on internal Lebanese calculations and security concerns about labeling some detainees as security threats, rather than being seen as a human rights issue.”
He also noted “the role of Hezbollah’s political and security influence in complicating the file, especially since some cases occurred in security contexts and were referred to military courts, making them hostage to political balances.”
Wail Alwan, executive director of the Jusoor Center for Studies, said obstacles stem from a “legal-political overlap, with a predominance of the legal dimension, amid simultaneous transitions in Lebanon and Syria toward rebuilding state institutions, explaining the slow progress without it being deliberate or politically motivated,” while noting an indirect influence of Hezbollah.
Shihadeh emphasized that the file is now “managed within a political framework tied to the changing Syrian reality and Lebanon’s desire to reorganize relations with Damascus,” stressing that the law must serve justice.
Diab noted that Lebanon’s deep division over the file—between those seeking the transfer of around 2,300 detainees and convicts to ease prison pressure and those opposing it to defend judicial sovereignty—further complicates matters, along with Hezbollah’s stance, viewing most detainees as politically arrested for opposing it or belonging to the Free Syrian Army.
A Potential Crisis
Despite the lengthy period of negotiations without decisive results, Metri emphasized that Lebanon does not follow a policy of delay. In a post on X, he said, “Lebanon is committed to resolving the problem through understanding with Syria, and we are seriously seeking a legal framework to allow this as soon as possible, despite all complexities.”
Abdel Rahman warned that continued delay “will further strain Lebanese-Syrian relations and deepen the lack of trust between the two sides. The continued presence of thousands of Syrians in Lebanese prisons without clear solutions increases public and human rights pressure, making this file one of the main obstacles to any serious effort to organize bilateral relations.”
He added that “ignoring the humanitarian dimension could turn the issue into an open political and human rights crisis in the coming period, within Lebanon and among the Syrian public.”
