Lebanon and Syria are preparing for a second round of talks on detainees by early October, with officials in both countries under pressure to resolve the fate of more than 2,000 Syrians held in Lebanese prisons and Lebanese nationals missing in Syria, 

The committees, formed after a first meeting in Damascus on September 9, are tasked with drawing up a judicial framework that balances Beirut’s insistence on upholding court rulings with Damascus’s demand for the repatriation of its citizens.

According to Lebanese data cited by Nidaa al-Watan newspaper, some 2,100 Syrians are behind bars, 70 percent of them still awaiting trial, in some cases for years without appearing before a judge. The rest have been convicted of crimes ranging from terrorism to attacks on the Lebanese army. Syrians make up about 30 percent of Lebanon’s prison population.

Syria, where public anger has grown over the detention of “prisoners of conscience” in Lebanon, is pushing for their return. Many include defected officers, activists, and Islamist figures who fled to Lebanon during the war. 

Lebanon, for its part, is reluctant to hand over detainees convicted of terrorism or attacks against the army, or to transfer suspects who have yet to stand trial. Officials say they want guarantees that any transferred prisoners will serve their sentences in Syria. Beirut has also rejected reviving prisoner-exchange agreements signed under former President Bashar al-Assad, insisting instead on a new deal that safeguards judicial sovereignty.

The issue gained urgency in August when a video circulated online of Syrian tribal figures threatening to storm Lebanon unless detainees were released. Protests flared shortly afterward when a Syrian from Qusayr died in Lebanon’s Roumieh Prison, prompting Damascus to dispatch an official delegation to Beirut.

Domestic politics add another layer of complexity. Speculation that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam might push a general amnesty law has been met with skepticism, as similar proposals have repeatedly stalled in parliament. Rival factions remain divided over whether amnesty should cover Islamists, drug offenders, or those convicted of attacks on the army.

MP Michel Moussa, head of parliament’s Human Rights Committee, said any amnesty bill remains frozen in committee.

“The only viable solution for Syrian detainees is a judicial agreement between Beirut and Damascus that respects Lebanese law,” he told reporters.

The fate of more than 300,000 people missing in Syria, including Lebanese nationals, is also expected to figure in the talks, though officials admit progress on that front will be slow.

The next meeting between the Lebanese and Syrian committees, expected within days, could determine whether momentum builds toward a comprehensive judicial arrangement, or whether the file remains mired in legal disputes and political wrangling.