Eight suspected members of the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) handed over to Lebanon recently are being questioned under the supervision of judicial authorities and they will stand trial in their home country, Justice Minister Salim Jreissati said Saturday (August 4th).
The eight were captured in Syria by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and interrogated by US officials before Washington decided to hand them over to Lebanon’s military intelligence, according to Lebanon’s daily Al-Akhbar.
The paper said the eight were among 13 Lebanese citizens captured by the SDF in Syria, adding that the five still in custody in Syria include a senior ISIS official.
The Lebanese army said in a statement earlier last week that eight Lebanese citizens who fought for ISIS in Iraq and Syria were handed over to Lebanon "by friendly security agencies in the framework of the international coalition to fight terrorism".
It added that they were handed later by the army to judicial authorities.
Jreissati told local LBC TV that the questioning of the eight by military investigators is supervised by Military Prosecutor Peter Germanos.
"Their trial in Lebanon is a guarantee for them," he said.
