Syria requests extradition of Bashar Assad's cousin after Lebanon arrest on Friday

Syria has requested that Lebanon extradite Suleiman Hilal Assad, a cousin of current president Bashar Assad, following his arrest in Lebanon during a security raid on a drug warehouse in the Bekaa Valley, according to Al Arabiya/Al Hadath sources on Friday.

The sources said Lebanese security forces carried out the raid, which resulted in the detention of several individuals, including Suleiman Hilal Assad. Syria is seeking his extradition over accusations of involvement in murders inside Syria and drug smuggling from Syrian territory.

The extradition request comes as Beirut and Damascus have begun pursuing and extraditing figures linked to Bashar Assad's regime who fled to Lebanon after its fall in December 2024. Damascus continues to press for the prosecution of several wanted individuals accused of crimes during the years of conflict.

In August last year, Lebanese authorities handed over former General Adel Issa to Syria, marking the first publicly announced extradition of a senior officer from the Assad era since the regime's collapse.

In June, Syria's Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of Wasim Assad, another cousin of Bashar Assad, in the Talkalakh area near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

The fall of Bashar Assad's regime in December 2024 prompted several former officers and officials to flee to Lebanon, after which Damascus began demanding the prosecution and extradition of some of them.

These developments coincide with efforts by Damascus and Beirut to rebuild relations after decades during which the former Syrian regime dominated Lebanese affairs under the Assad family, a period marked by accusations of assassinations of Lebanese political figures opposed to Syrian influence.

Since the new authorities took power, Lebanese and Syrian officials have held meetings and agreed to cooperate on several issues, including judicial and security matters.