Lebanon Considers Largest Amnesty in 35 Years Amid Protests
The draft would free more than 3,000 detainees and ease jail overcrowding as lawmakers weigh exclusions for rape, corruption and terrorism financing.
- Lebanon's Parliament prepares to approve the largest amnesty since 1991, aiming to address prison overcrowding by releasing over 3,000 of nearly 8,600 detainees, with final approval and presidential signature expected in the coming weeks.
- Sunni lawmakers demanded release of Islamists, Shiite factions sought drug dealers, and Christian legislators pushed for those who fled to Israel, with lawmaker Nabil Badr describing the process as a "road of political bargains."
- Samira Bou Saab, whose son was killed by cleric Ahmed Al-Assir in 2013, questioned whether the convicted killer deserves amnesty, while Maryam Younnes hopes the law permits her return from Israel.
- Families of fallen soldiers protested by placing empty military boots outside Parliament in Beirut, while Amal Shamseddine, wife of imprisoned cleric Ahmad al-Assir, said "He is being executed slowly."
- Lebanon's last major amnesty in 1991 facilitated reconciliation after a civil war that left 150,000 dead, yet most militia leaders then entered the ruling class, later blamed for corruption and the 2019 economic meltdown.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Associated Press News
Lebanon considers its largest amnesty in 35 years but some are protesting
Lebanon is preparing for its largest amnesty since its civil war ended in 1990. The draft law is expected to pass soon and would replace death sentences and reduce life sentences, potentially releasing thousands of detainees.
Video: Lebanon considers its largest amnesty in 35 years but some are protesting
Lebanon's largest amnesty since the end of its devastating 1975-90 civil war is expected to occur in the coming weeks, once parliament approves it and the president signs it. The law would replace death sentences, reduce life sentences and eventually lead to the release of convicted militants and drug dealers while excluding crimes such as rape, human trafficking, corruption, funding acts of terrorism and premeditated murder. Samira Bou Saab’s s…
Samira Bou Saab had hoped to see the execution of the man who was sentenced to death for killing his son. Instead, in time he could be released under a comprehensive amnesty bill in Lebanon that is exposing the complex history of the country of loyalties and conflict.
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