Beruit
A Lebanese judicial official stated, on Thursday, March 20, that more than 700 Syrian prisoners held in Lebanon could soon be extradited to their home country.
He explained that the extradition process requires completing the legal files of Syrian prisoners and detainees who meet the necessary conditions for their extradition, according to AFP news agency.
A security source revealed that Lebanon currently holds over 2,100 Syrian prisoners and detainees, with 350 already sentenced while the rest are still awaiting trial.
Syrian prisoners face significantly harsher conditions compared to Lebanese inmates and detainees of other nationalities due to the worsening food and medical services caused by Lebanon’s ongoing financial and economic crises.
AFP reported that a Syrian prisoner in Lebanon, along with many of his comrades, were arrested for political reasons. They were detained on Lebanese territory over allegations of belonging to Syrian opposition factions that had fought against the ousted Syrian regime.
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In mid-February, Syrian villages near the Lebanese border witnessed protests demanding the release of Syrians imprisoned in Lebanon. Demonstrators called on the president of the Syrian interim government, Ahmed al-Sharaa, to take action to secure the release of their relatives detained in Lebanese prisons.
Amid these protests, Syrian prisoners in Lebanon launched an open-ended hunger strike, urging the Lebanese authorities to facilitate their release.
Arab media outlets published a handwritten letter sent by Syrian prisoners in Beruit’s Roumieh Prison to Ahmad al-Sharaa, pleading for intervention in their case. The letter confirmed that they had begun a hunger strike as a form of protest until they were freed.
In mid-January, Al-Sharaa had formally requested that former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati facilitate the release of Syrian prisoners held in Lebanon.
