BEIRUT: The Military Tribunal has ordered the deportation of a defected Syrian army officer but Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said the move was unlikely to be carried out.

Lt. Mohammad Tlas was sentenced late Tuesday to two months in prison and fined LL100,000 for illegally entering Lebanon.

A security source told The Daily Star that Tlas has yet to be handed over to General Security, which would oversee his return to Syria, but that “political considerations” would likely block the move.

For his part, Charbel said deporting Tlas to Syria was unlikely to take place, based on the government’s policy of disassociation from the Syrian conflict.

Tlas, 30, maintained that he was a member of the rebel Free Syrian Army and had entered Lebanon to bring a wounded comrade to safety.