BEIRUT, March 20. /TASS/. Over 700 Syrian prisoners serving sentences in Lebanese prisons will be handed over to the authorities in Damascus in the near future, the Asharq al Awsat newspaper reported.
According to it, this is the first group of 2,000 Syrians held in Lebanese prisons to be deported to their homeland under a bilateral agreement. Most of them were arrested between 2013 and 2017 for belonging to radical Islamic organizations and participating in attacks on Lebanese soldiers.
The agreement to hand over the detainees was reached on January 11 during a visit to Damascus by former Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who met with Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Following the meeting, the transitional government announced that "all Syrian prisoners will be returned from Lebanon to their homeland." It did not specify whether they would be released or continue to serve their sentences in Syria.
A security source told the newspaper that 2,100 Syrians are held in Lebanese prisons. According to him, only 350 of them have received final sentences, while the rest are still under investigation. Another 650 are being held in temporary detention centers.
During the internal conflict in SSyria, which began in 2011, 2.5 million Syrian refugees took refuge on Lebanese territory.