By Nabil Al Mulhem
Albawaba.com - Damascus
Lebanese prisoners being held in Syrian jails were due to be handed over Sunday to Lebanese authorities, a well-informed source told Albawaba.com Sunday.
The source, who requested anonymity, added that a joint Syrian-Lebanese committee formed of judicial and security personnel will undertake the hand-over.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad ended their silence on the thorny issue of the Lebanese prisoners held by Syria last Wednesday, saying the detained, who were estimated to be around 256, some of whom were convicted of civil crimes and many others were held for political reasons and spying.
Lebanese sources told Albawaba.com that the Syrian government does not intend to keep any of the Lebanese prisoners in its jails. But they added that there is an argument over the exact number of the detainees between the two parties.
Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri has recently said there were around 40 detainees, but that figure was disputed by human rights organizations and associations formed by the relatives of the detainees, who put the number at several hundred or even several thousand, reported the AFP Sunday.
AFP, on the other hand, reported that the prisoners’ hand-over would take place Monday morning – Albawaba.com
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