Lebanon seeks deal to send overcrowded prison inmates to Syria

Justice Minister Adel Nassar tells The National proposal would cover most Syrians in jail

Lebanon is seeking a treaty that would see most Syrian prisoners serve the rest of their sentence in their homeland in a bid to ease severe overcrowding in Lebanese jails.

At Lebanon's largest jail of Roumieh, authorities have also reopened a court – which had last been active during the Covid-19 pandemic – as they seek to speed up the judicial process for suspects from Lebanon, Syria or elsewhere.

The idea of a treaty with Syria was formulated by Justice Minister Adel Nassar, who came into the position earlier this year in a new Lebanese government seeking to bring about reform in a country long plagued by institutional malaise.

Mr Nassar has also pushed forward with a draft law for enhanced judicial independence in a country where courts have long suffered from political interference. It is part of a wider push for an overhaul of the judicial system that includes its digitisation. A raft of new judges has also been appointed.

“When the Prime Minister went to Syria I addressed this issue with him,” Mr Nassar said, referring to the April visit to Damascus by Nawaf Salam, himself a former judge who headed the International Court of Justice until the start of the year.

“He addressed this to the Syrian authorities regarding the possibility to enter in to a treaty that would allow Syrian detainees in Lebanon to continue their sentence in Syria,” Mr Nassar told The National from his office at the Justice Ministry in Beirut.

Lebanon's Justice Minister Adel Nassar speaks to The National at his office in Beirut. Mohamad Zanaty for The National

“But this would not apply to people who were condemned for terrorism or for killing Lebanese citizens and soldiers – or [other] major crimes. It would apply for the majority, which are people who are sentences for stealing, for fraud etc. Not for killing Lebanese citizens,” added the minister, a Harvard-educated lawyer.

Lebanon's prisons are notorious for their overcrowding and cramped conditions, with a population hovering around 8,500. Last year, about 80 per cent of them were yet to have their case go to trial.

About 2,000 Syrian detainees are believed to be housed in Lebanese jails. The Lebanese government estimates about 1.5 million Syrians are in the country, although it is a figure difficult to properly verify.

Some of them, however, are held on terrorism charges for fighting against the Lebanese Army. In one case in 2014 in the border town of Arsal in the north-west reaches of Lebanon, fighters from ISIS and Jabhat Al Nusra – which included Syrian nationals – engaged in deadly clashes with the Lebanese Army for about a week.

Mr Nassar has not had direct contact with his Syrian counterpart, but insists the conversations are continuing between authorities in Beirut and Damascus.

Pressure on Lebanon

Last week SyriaTV reported that authorities were seeking to pressure Lebanon through political and diplomatic measures to address the issue of Syrian detainees – although that report was later denied by the Ministry of Information in Damascus, which said it sought to address the issue through official channels.

Nonetheless, a high-level Syrian delegation is expected in Beirut in the near future – with the prison situation expected to be on the agenda, even if the visit has not been officially confirmed.

The treaty idea was floated by Mr Nassar, and awaits a response and action from the Syrian side.

“I hope that the Syrian authorities will follow up on that because we opened the door and we are willing co-operate with them,” Mr Nassar said.

“I welcome a visit from the Syrian minister of justice to discuss the possibility to sign a treaty in order to have the issue addressed.”

Roumieh, an otherwise picturesque town overlooking Beirut, is home to by far the largest prison in Lebanon with about 3,400 detainees despite the buildings being built for 1,200.

Raja Abi Nader, the judge that heads the prisons directorate at the Ministry of Justice, said the Roumieh courts were relaunched on June 3, with 500 detainees having their case heard. By reopening the courts in Roumieh, the logistical time for suspects for be transferred has been dramatically cut, authorities say.

“Syrians, like Lebanese detainees, are suffering from the fact that prisons are overcrowded,” Mr Nassar said.