Justice Minister Adel Nassar during a press conference. (Credit: National News Agency)
A Syrian judicial delegation arrived in Beirut on Tuesday for an official visit focused on resolving pending legal issues between Lebanon and Syria.
The discussions included Syrian detainees in Lebanese prisons, especially those held in Roumieh Prison, as well as past political assassinations and the exclusion of militants from a recent bilateral agreement, according to local media.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar said Tuesday that "the agreement with Syria does not include those involved in battles against the Lebanese Army, and I discussed with my Syrian counterpart the assassinations that took place in Lebanon during the former regime," during a meeting with the Syrian justice minister and a judicial delegation in Beirut, local media reported.
The minister headed the judicial delegation.
A meeting was held in the old Grand Serail building between Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and Justice Minister Adel Nassar with the Syrian delegation, headed by Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar al-Weis, to continue discussions on the matter of Syrian detainees and prisoners, Al Markaziyah reported.
During the meeting, the judicial agreement between Lebanon and Syria, presented by Nassar, was discussed, according to Al Markaziyah.
According to informed sources speaking to Sky News, an agreement is expected on a judicial mechanism for the handover of a number of detainees who were arrested in Lebanon in recent years on charges related to their affiliation with groups connected to the Syrian revolution.
The meeting also addressed the possibility of expediting the trials of other detainees in preparation for their release.
Justice Minister Adel Nassar told Al-Jadeed that the meeting with the Syrian delegation was positive and that progress had been made on all files. According to Al-Modon, the Syrian judicial delegation visiting Lebanon, headed by the justice minister, will also visit Roumieh Prison to meet with some of the Syrian detainees and assess their conditions.
Mitri confirmed to Al-Jadeed that the Syrian delegation will tour some of the prisons to meet with detainees.
Syria requests 'at least 500 detainees'
Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al‑Shaibani, who arrived in Beirut on Friday, has already met several high-ranking Lebanese officials, including his Lebanese counterpart, Joe Rajji, and Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun.
According to information obtained by L’Orient-Le Jour, Syria has requested the release of all its nationals detained in Lebanon. Lebanese authorities responded that this was not immediately possible for judicial reasons and that the procedure had to follow legal channels.
The Lebanese justice minister insisted on the need for a joint judicial agreement requiring a law passed by Parliament, while the prime minister proposed a quick mechanism not requiring parliamentary approval.
Shaibani again stressed the urgency of releasing the detainees in the coming days, or if not, at least 500 of them.
Lebanon specified, however, that it could not release such a number at once and that the process should go forward in phases, in smaller groups, following the mandatory judicial process.
A Lebanese judicial official who requested anonymity told AFP that around 2,250 Syrians are detained in Lebanon’s overcrowded prisons. Lebanon, meanwhile, has asked the new Syrian authorities for information on the many political assassinations attributed to Damascus during its tutelage over Lebanon and after the withdrawal of its troops in 2005, said Nassar to AFP.
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