Lebanon Receives Prisoner from Russia for the First Time Under Judicial Cooperation Agreement

The recent days were not ordinary within the corridors of the Lebanese judiciary, as Beirut witnessed the arrival of a Lebanese prisoner coming from Russia. Central Criminal Investigation security personnel traveled to the capital, Moscow, to receive the prisoner, marking a first-of-its-kind step between Lebanon and Russia.

According to details obtained by MTV website, the handover was executed pursuant to the judicial cooperation agreement between the two countries, which allows the prisoner to serve the remainder of his sentence in his home country.

Sources confirm that completing this file required significant efforts that began after 2017, before recent endeavors succeeded in securing Russian approval for his deportation, despite him having served the vast majority of his sentence in Russian prisons.

This case takes us back to 2013, when (J.S.) fell into the hands of Russian security forces after narcotics were found in his possession at an airport. At that time, he was charged with introducing narcotics into Russian territory, leading the Russian judiciary to issue a verdict sentencing him to 17 years in prison, of which he spent 13 years behind bars in Russia.

Today, he is in the custody of Lebanese authorities, who are studying his legal file to determine the prison where he will be held to complete the remaining years of his sentence.

However, judicial data offers a glimmer of hope for him, as information obtained by MTV website indicates a high probability that he may benefit from the general amnesty law. This could mean the possibility of his release into freedom soon, especially since his file contains no criminal records and the crime for which he was sentenced is considered an isolated incident.