Hankache Deplores Encroachment on State's Prestige in Wake of State Security Members Release

Kataeb MP Elias Hankache on Friday condemned the way two members of Lebanon's State Security were brought back home after being detained in Syria, saying that it encloses a blatant encroachment on the Lebanese state's prestige and sovereignty.

Rayan Olabi and Raydan Charrouf, who were arrested Sunday by a Syrian army patrol during a hiking trip on the Jabal al-Sheikh mountain near the border with Syria, were handed over to Lebanese Democratic Party head, Talal Arslan, following negotiations he carried out with Damascus.

“Two State Security members detained in Syria were handed over to a deputy…Thank God for their safety, but where is the state’s respect?” Hankache wrote in a tweet.

“Where is the sovereignty and prestige of the Lebanese Republic? Where do those who are eager to normalize "equality-based" ties with Syria?” he asked.