Syria Fails to Respond to Najjar's Request on Referring Arrest Warrants to Lebanese Judiciary

Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar has asked his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Younes to refer the arrest warrants against Lebanese personalities to the Lebanese judiciary but has received no answer.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan unveiled to Future News on Tuesday night that the request was made on December 17.

An Nahar daily said Wednesday that Najjar sent the request to Younes through the general-secretariat of the Higher Lebanese-Syrian Council two days after the last cabinet session which failed to agree on the false witnesses issue.

The justice minister's request was based on a judicial agreement signed between Lebanon and Syria in 1951 which states that any crime committed on Lebanese territory should be resolved by the Lebanese judiciary.

Sources following up the issue told An Nahar that the Syrian judiciary is free to respond to or reject the Lebanese request.

The sources stressed that the lawsuit filed by the former head of the General Security Department, Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, is not linked to Hizbullah's demand on false witnesses.