Former Assad regime officer faces arrest warrant in Lebanon as extradition request remains pending

BEIRUT — Former Syrian army general Adel Issa, arrested last week in Lebanon, is now the subject of an arrest warrant issued Friday by Court of Cassation Prosecutor General Ahmad Rami al-Hajj. Issa served under the Assad regime and is already wanted by the new Syrian authorities, who accuse him of “murders and crimes against humanity,” along with numerous other former officials of the ousted regime.

According to L’Orient-Le Jour’s information, the prosecutor questioned Issa on Friday. Based on documents and evidence submitted by the Syrian judiciary, he decided to issue an arrest warrant, pending a decision early next week on the extradition request submitted by Damascus. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said the warrant was issued on suspicion of “intentional and premeditated murder, torture resulting in death, as well as inciting internal and sectarian conflicts.”

As for the extradition request, the prosecutor must first determine whether the legal conditions for handing Issa over to the Syrian authorities have been met, particularly in light of bilateral agreements between Lebanon and Syria. The two countries signed a judicial cooperation agreement last February.

Issa, 67, was a member of the Syrian army’s 17th Brigade. He went to the Syrian Embassy in Beirut last Friday to handle administrative matters, according to an anonymous judicial source cited by AFP.

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During questioning following his arrest, which was announced Aug. 8, Issa said, according to another judicial source quoted by L’OLJ, that he had gone to the embassy without suspecting that he might be arrested. He denied committing any of the acts of which he is accused.

According to L’Orient-Le Jour’s information, Issa left Syria illegally but was residing legally in Lebanon under a residence permit issued by the Directorate General of General Security. AFP reported that after being informed of the arrest warrant issued against Issa in absentia, embassy staff asked Lebanese authorities to arrest him.

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syrian authorities have arrested dozens of people accused of crimes committed during more than 13 years of civil war. The first trials began in April and, earlier this week, resulted in the in-absentia death sentences of former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher.