The Syrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Assaad al-Shaibani (center) is accompanied by his Lebanese counterpart Joe Rajji (left) upon his arrival for a meeting with the Lebanese prime minister in Beirut, on Oct. 10, 2025. (Credit: Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — A former official from the Syrian embassy's security was arrested on Tuesday, Internal Security Forces (ISF) announced, following the circulation online of passport photos belonging to a Syrian diplomatic delegation that came to Lebanon in mid September.
The man was part of the embassy protection service in charge of safeguarding and escorting officials at the Beirut embassy, a unit that operates under the ISF.
An ISF investigation determined that one officer photographed the passports of the delegation at the Masnaa border crossing in the presence of embassy officials, then sent them to a colleague "to speed up administrative processing." These documents were later leaked on social media.
According to the ISF, "the second agent then forwarded the photos to his former supervisor, who was recently transferred to another unit, and this supervisor in turn sent the documents to a civilian," which led to the public dissemination of the information.
The other suspects involved in the case, as well as a civilian, have been released "on residence bail," while "strict disciplinary measures have been taken against the agents involved," according to an ISF statement.
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