Families seek truth about loved relatives held in Syria

BEIRUT — Lebanese families have urged authorities to clarify the fate of their relatives held in Syrian prisons and secure their release, after years of disappearance and no official information about their situation.

"Among the detainees are Lebanese nationals as well as Australians of Lebanese origin, who are still alive," said attorney Bahia Abou Hamad, who has taken on the case.

Hamad stated that she would send formal letters to the Australian government, as well as to several leaders, to help shed light on their fate and to facilitate their return to their families, both in Lebanon and Australia.

Lebanon has repeatedly asked Damascus to reveal the fate of Lebanese who disappeared under the former Assad regime. In early December, Syrian Justice Minister Mazhar Abdel-Rahmane al-Oueis said there were no Lebanese prisoners in Syria.

New Syrian officials also told their Lebanese counterparts they had no information about the detainees. They said the prison databases were controlled by former regime officers who left the country on Dec. 8, 2024.

Many Lebanese languished for years, sometimes even decades, in Syrian jails after being arrested during the civil war or during the years of Syrian tutelage over the country (1976-2005). Before the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, Damascus always refused to provide information on this issue, and the Lebanese authorities never truly sought to clarify the incarcerations.

Lebanon and Syria officially signed an agreement Friday providing for the transfer of about 300 Syrian prisoners who have been convicted and are currently incarcerated in Lebanon's overcrowded prisons. Under this agreement, prisoners who have already been tried in Lebanon will be repatriated to Syria. These approximately 300 detainees are among the roughly 2,250 Syrians imprisoned in Lebanon.