The arrest of the Syrian Suleiman Hilal al-Assad in Lebanon went beyond the judicial framework, and his prosecution on charges related to “possession of military weapons, trafficking in them, and drugs,” to the political dimension, and the possibility of extraditing him to his country if the Syrian authorities request his return, which may pose a problem that prevents the implementation of this request, after the issuance of the law abolishing the death penalty in Lebanon, which was put into effect.
About a month after the arrest of Al-Assad, who is the cousin of former Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, the case is heading to the interrogation stage before the military judiciary, where the military investigating judge, Wael Al-Hassan, set October 8th as the date for his interrogation with the arrested Ali Nouh Zuaiter, in the case of possession of unlicensed military weapons and trafficking in them.
According to the data of the file, it is expected that the interrogation will be followed by the issuance of two preliminary arrest warrants against them in the weapons case, with the second part of their file being referred to the Public Prosecution in the Bekaa (eastern Lebanon) to prosecute them for the crimes of drug use and drug promotion. Thus, the prosecution takes two judicial paths, depending on the nature of the crimes attributed to the detainees and the authority competent to look into them.
There is no Syrian request for his return
Despite the sensitivity raised by the name of the arrested person and his family connection to the ousted Syrian president, the measures taken so far are still within the framework of prosecuting the crimes attributed to him in Lebanon, according to the expression of a judicial source familiar with the file. However, the case may gain another dimension if the Syrian authorities submit a request to extradite him, supported by data about crimes he is suspected of committing during the Syrian war and before the fall of the regime.
The judicial source explained that the Lebanese Public Prosecution “has not yet received any Syrian correspondence requesting the return of Suleiman al-Assad.” But he does not rule out “the arrival of a file from Damascus in the coming days or weeks, which includes information and evidence regarding actions that may be attributed to him in Syria.”
The source confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that “any file sent to Lebanon will be subject to study and scrutiny before a decision is taken regarding it,” noting that the Lebanese prosecution “remains independent of the possibility of submitting a Syrian request.”
He said: “If he is convicted by the Lebanese judiciary, the sentence imposed must be carried out before deciding on the issue of his extradition after the end of his sentence.”
Limitations on refund requests
The issue of deporting this person from Lebanon after carrying out the sentence imposed on him raises a new legal discussion, even in the absence of a request for extradition, as it is an issue related to the legal status of any foreigner. However, the abolition of the death penalty in Lebanon, and the entry into force of the law, imposed a new reality. According to the judicial source’s assessment, the law “placed new restrictions on dealing with requests for the return of detained foreigners.” He explained that “the nature of the crime for which the Syrian authorities may prosecute Assad, and the penalty prescribed for it, will be essential in evaluating any request,” stressing that his extradition “becomes legally impossible if the crime charged against him requires execution in his country.”
In comparison between Lebanon's extradition of Syrian Major General Adel Issa to his country on August 19, and the file of Suleiman al-Assad, the source attributed the difference in the legal status to the timing of that procedure, pointing out that "the extradition of Issa occurred before the law abolishing the death penalty was published in the Official Gazette and its entry into force," stressing that the Suleiman al-Assad file will remain limited to the criminal framework and the charges against the detainee, while the issue of extradition remains linked to what the Syrian authorities may present. Evidence, and within the legal limits governing Lebanon’s response to it.”
