Director General of General Security Major General Abbas Ibrahim announced the release of Canadian national Christian Lee Baxter, who was detained in Syria.
During a press conference, Maj. Gen. Ibrahim said that Baxter had been detained since last year in Syria for reasons related to breaking Syrian law, adding that he will be on his way back to Canada.
Ibrahim also thanked the Syrian authorities for being responsive over the past two weeks to release a US and Canadian hostages, stressing that this case serves the interest of Lebanon in general, which presents the country as civilized and humanitarian.
On another note, he said that the cases of Samir Kassab and the bishops are under follow-up and there is no news that can be disclosed at the moment.
For her part, Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon Emmanuelle Lamoureux expressed gratitude to Maj. Gen. Ibrahim and his team on the role they played in this case, noting that work had been ongoing for a while to release Mr. Baxter.
In turn, Baxter thanked both the Canadian embassy and the Lebanese authorities for helping him get out of Syria, noting that “he thought he would be there forever.”