A Lebanese-Syrian judicial committee held another round of talks in Beirut, focusing on unresolved legal files between the two countries, including the fate of Syrian prisoners in Lebanon, Lebanese detainees missing in Syrian jails, and the return of displaced Syrians.

In a move described as unprecedented, a senior Lebanese official told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that Beirut formally asked Damascus to provide information on the assassinations of political, religious, military, security, and media figures during decades of Syrian dominance over Lebanon. The official said Lebanon handed over a list of names, including leaders whose killings have never been solved.

A series of high-profile assassinations marked Lebanon’s years under Syrian tutelage, with suspicions long directed at Syrian intelligence. Those killed included former presidents-elect Bashir Gemayel and René Mouawad, former prime minister Rafik Hariri, Grand Mufti Sheikh Hassan Khaled, and other clerics, officers and security chiefs. More recent victims include army operations chief Brigadier General François al-Hajj, Internal Security Forces intelligence head Major General Wissam al-Hassan, and researcher Lokman Slim.

“We asked the Syrian State under President Ahmad al-Sharaa to provide all the documents, evidence, and information it holds on these assassinations, starting from the killing of Druze leader Kamal Jumblat up to the murder of Lokman Slim,” the Lebanese official said, adding that Damascus showed readiness to cooperate.

The joint legal-judicial committee, working under the supervision of Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, also discussed a draft agreement on judicial cooperation and exchanged lists of Syrian detainees in Lebanon, many of them arrested for links to opposition groups against the former Assad regime.

According to a statement from Mitri’s office, both sides stressed the need to finalize the agreement quickly to establish a legal framework for resolving prisoner cases.

The two countries’ national commissions on missing and forcibly disappeared persons also held talks, exchanging initial information and agreeing to draft a memorandum of understanding to share data and coordinate efforts to uncover the fate of those still unaccounted for.

The Syrian delegation included three judges, among them Khaled Hammoud and Nemer al-Nemer, as well as a senior interior ministry officer. The Lebanese side was represented by the government's commissioner to the Military Court, Claude Ghanem, Head of the Prisons Directorate at Lebanese Ministry of Justice, Raja Abi Nader, and Judge Mona Hanqir.

According to officials familiar with the discussions, Syria requested a detailed list of all missing Lebanese, including the information held by families and authorities, to help trace their fate. The talks also covered mechanisms for the repatriation of Syrian prisoners and a review of existing bilateral judicial agreements.