BEIRUT: Some Lebanese prisoners in Syria are covered by the country’s recent general amnesty, the Higher Lebanese-Syrian Council said Friday, although they are yet to be identified.

“Syria has released three general amnesty decrees and the secretary-general’s office is following up on the issue to find out the names of the Lebanese that are included in the amnesty,” secretary-general Nasri Khoury told reporters after meeting with Lebanon’s Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour.

Human rights activists have called on the Lebanese government to put more effort into securing the release of any Lebanese inmates in Syrian prisons that might be included in the three amnesties declared by Syrian President Bashar Assad since March.

Khoury said that the council is following the progress of the case with Syrian authorities, adding that Lebanon would be notified of any names when the information is available.  

“We are following this issue with the concerned Syrian authorities and when we get the names ... we will inform the necessary ministries,” Khoury said. 

The two officials also discussed Syrian-Lebanese relations, emphasizing the need to strengthen ties between the two countries. 

“We had a long discussion regarding mutual issues between Syria and Lebanon and concerning the important of strengthening the special relations between Lebanon and Syria as a result of historical, economic and social link between the two brotherly countries,” Khoury said. 

However, Khoury declined to comment on the flow of Syrian refugees to Lebanon since the unrest began.