Source Reveals Disputes Between Lebanon and Syria Over Prisoner Transfer File

ARK News.. An informed media source has revealed that the Lebanese judicial delegation returned from Damascus without reaching a new agreement regulating the mechanism for transferring Syrian detainees held in Lebanon, following a round of negotiations that exposed deep disagreements between the two sides over key provisions of the draft agreement.

The newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat quoted a source close to the Lebanese delegation as saying that the atmosphere of the meeting was “generally positive,” despite unresolved issues, noting that the handover of detainees would require legislation from the Lebanese parliament, which is “currently unavailable.”

According to the source, Syrian officials who attended the meeting said that the Lebanese proposal “does not meet the minimum requirements from the Syrian perspective,” arguing that the draft contains “problematic clauses that cannot be accepted” and that infringe upon Syrian state sovereignty.

Sources explained that the first controversial clause grants Lebanon the right to refuse the transfer of any convicted person or detainee without providing justification, describing this provision as “a major loophole that allows Lebanon to withhold the transfer of any prisoner at will, without legal grounds.”

According to the same sources, the most sensitive issue for Syria concerns a clause that would prevent Damascus from granting amnesty to any prisoner transferred from Lebanon, which Syria views as “an interference in the powers of the Syrian authorities.”

They added that there is also “a serious problem with Article 10 of the agreement,” which Lebanon sought to model on the treaty it signed with Pakistan. That article stipulates that the receiving state (Syria) may not grant amnesty to any convicted person or detainee handed over by Lebanon—while the agreement with Pakistan does not deprive Islamabad of the right to grant amnesty to its nationals returned from Lebanon.

98