Arabic version: لبنان يواجه ضغوطاً بشأن مسؤولين سوريين سابقين

According to Al Jazeera, Lebanon is no longer seen as a secure refuge for former Syrian regime officials after Syria’s new government began seeking their extradition over alleged war crimes.

Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his brother fled to Moscow as Damascus fell in December 2024. Other officials reportedly crossed into Lebanon, where some had longstanding ties to Hezbollah or figures in Lebanon’s military. Syrian authorities are now pursuing former regime members to complete judicial procedures, Syrian Justice Ministry aide Mustafa al-Qassem said.

Adel Issa, a former major general in al-Assad’s army, was recently arrested in Lebanon after Syrian embassy staff reportedly alerted authorities when he visited for paperwork. A top Lebanese prosecutor announced on Tuesday that Issa would be extradited to Syria to face trial over alleged crimes during his military service.

The case could be significant because no Syrian regime figures accused of atrocities have yet been returned from Lebanon. Syrian authorities earlier requested that Lebanese security forces hand over more than 200 senior officers who fled after the former government’s collapse, while experts said estimates of those remaining in Lebanon are uncertain.

Extradition has raised legal and human rights concerns because Syria retains the death penalty while Lebanon’s parliament has passed a law abolishing capital punishment. Wadih al-Asmar of the Lebanese Centre for Human Rights said Lebanon cannot send a person to a country where they could face execution without violating international and domestic law.