On Friday, the Lebanese General Security Service arrested the wife and daughter of Duraid Rifaat al-Assad, the cousin of the deposed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while they were trying to travel abroad from Beirut International Airport.

A judicial source explained that Duraid Al-Assad's wife and daughter entered Lebanon illegally, and were about to travel from Beirut Airport to abroad. When their passports were examined by the General Security Department at Beirut Airport, it was found that there was forgery and tampering in their pages and that the passport data had been changed, especially with regard to their validity.

The source indicated that the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Appeal in Mount Lebanon, Judge Raed Abu Shakra, gave a signal to arrest them, and informed the Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Judge Jamal Al-Hajjar, of what happened, who ordered their detention and investigation.

The source pointed out that the investigation is focused on the reasons for forging the passports and not on a security background, unless it turns out that they are wanted in Syria.

Reuters reported earlier this month that Rifaat al-Assad's current whereabouts are unknown. He has lived abroad, mostly in France, since the mid-1980s, after being accused of trying to overthrow his brother, former President Hafez al-Assad, Bashar's father.