Plan to Deport Syrian Prisoners from Lebanese Prisons Raises Concerns Amongst International Organizations

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The government of “Najib Mikati” has drawn up a plan to deport Syrian prisoners, who are in Lebanese prisons, to their country, as the ministerial committee to follow up on the return of the displaced has tasked the Minister of Justice in the caretaker government, Henry Al-Khoury, to research “the possibility of handing over detainees and convicts to the Syrian state immediately, while observing the laws.” And related agreements, and coordination in this regard with the Syrian state.

This plan doubled the concerns of international organizations regarding the handing over of these prisoners to the Syrian regime, especially as it was accompanied by a security campaign that affected the camps for the displaced, and resulted in the arrest of Syrians and the deportation of others.

Lebanese law prohibits the deportation of any foreign person who committed a crime on Lebanese territory, except after the end of his trial and the expiration of the term of the sentence imposed on him.

In this regard, Lebanese Minister of Justice Henry El-Khoury said, “The return of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon to their country is a sensitive issue, and it should not be dealt with by a hasty decision,” according to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

There are 1,800 Syrians who have committed criminal offenses in Lebanese prisons, 82 percent of whom have not completed their trials.

Al-Khoury stressed that “every file of the Syrian prisoners needs a careful legal study (…) If it is proven that there are prisoners who have judicial files in Syria, the procedures may be easier, so that their trials will be completed there, but if they do not have files, they will not.” We can take them out and release them at random, then they may go out the door (to Syria), and return through the window illegally, and then their danger becomes double.”

The Minister of Justice revealed that “a ministerial and technical delegation will visit Syria to discuss the return of the displaced, but the issue of convicts and detainees remains under in-depth study.”

A source familiar with the prison file told Asharq Al-Awsat that “there are dozens of detainees pending investigation in the security services’ offices and places of temporary detention, awaiting decisive judicial decisions regarding them, which means that this percentage will inevitably rise in the coming days.”

He said, “Among them are 143 (Syrian) minors in Lebanese prisons, under the age of eighteen.”

According to a security source concerned with the prison file, “Syrians constitute 27 percent of the prison population, or nearly a third of the prison population. This increases the burden of food and medical supplies, and exacerbates the number of lawsuits that Lebanese courts are flooded with.”

For her part, lawyer and human rights activist Diala Shehadeh warned against “violating the laws that must be followed in handing over any detainee to another country, as this requires that the concerned country submit a request for the extradition of its detained citizen in Lebanon.”