Lebanon is set to transfer 129 convicted Syrian prisoners to Syrian authorities next week under a bilateral agreement signed in February, while withholding seven others pending further security reviews, a senior judicial source said.
The move reflects growing judicial and security cooperation between Beirut and Damascus after years of strained coordination. It also highlights Lebanon’s efforts to ease chronic prison overcrowding while ensuring that inmates deemed potential security risks are subjected to additional scrutiny before any transfer takes place.
The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that all legal procedures have been completed for the 129 prisoners, allowing them to be transferred to Syria to serve the remainder of their sentences. Seven other Syrian convicts have been excluded from the current transfer because their files contain security-related concerns that require further examination before a final decision is made on their status.
According to the source, Public Prosecutor Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj has completed his review of the lists of Syrian prisoners covered by the agreement and forwarded them to the Lebanese premiership for approval.
The Prime Minister’s Office is expected to issue a formal letter stating it has no objection to the names on the list, clearing the way for implementation.
Once that step is completed — likely within two or three days — the file will be referred to Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who will prepare and sign the final decision authorizing the transfer in accordance with the agreement.
The exact timing of the handover has not yet been determined. The source said the operation requires coordination among several security and administrative agencies.
After legal procedures are finalized, the Internal Security Forces will oversee the prisoners’ release from Lebanese jails and complete the necessary administrative and security paperwork. Lebanon’s General Security Directorate will then transport the prisoners to the Lebanese-Syrian border.
The prisoners will be handed over to a Syrian security team at the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa Valley under a mechanism agreed upon by the two countries.
The transfer program has become one of the most visible examples of renewed judicial cooperation between Lebanon and Syria. In March, Lebanon transferred 134 convicted Syrians, roughly a month after the agreement was signed, helping address cases that had remained unresolved for years.
The judicial source stressed that withholding some prisoners does not undermine or circumvent the agreement. Rather, it reflects the Lebanese authorities’ determination not to treat the matter as a purely administrative exercise.
Sensitive cases, particularly those involving security-related allegations or suspicions, require thorough judicial and security scrutiny, the source said.
The fate of the seven withheld prisoners will depend on the outcome of ongoing reviews and whether their cases warrant inclusion in a future third transfer or different legal measures.
