Lebanon's ambassador to France, Rami Adwan. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Two young women in Paris filed a complaint against Lebanese Ambassador to France Rami Adwan, alleging rape and intentional violence, French media website Mediapart reported Friday.
The ambassador, while not denying relations with the two accusers, said he "contests all accusations of verbal, moral and sexual aggression," according to Mediapart. He also said the "accusations make no sense."
Adwan has diplomatic immunity in France unless Lebanon state decides to waive his immunity, according to the regulations derived from the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
According to Mediapart, the two women had an intimate relationship with the ambassador, who has been stationed in Paris since 2017.
Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour, a lawyer for Rami Adwan said he "largely explained himself on these allegations and contests these accusations of rape and beating."
Adwan has "explained the nature of the relationship, which was at times tumultuous and fraught with scenes and arguments. He is willing to explain himself if necessary," his lawyer continued.
Two complaints
According to Mediapart, Ava*, 28, filed an initial report against Adwan in 2020, accusing the ambassador of moral harassment and intentional violence. Ava was an employee of the Lebanese Embassy at the time.
Adwan told Mediapart that he "never laid a hand" on the woman. He said the relationship "ended in a very conflictual climate," believing that Ava* "tried to use" their relationship to "strengthen her position within the embassy."
Ava initially wish to lodge a main courante (a report without a complaint), a procedure forbidden in France in the case of domestic violence. She then declined to lodge a formal complaint.
When she ultimately filed a formal complaint in 2022, Ava described another episode of physical violence during which the ambassador allegedly "hit her on the back of the head with a marble ball used as a paperweight."
Rami Adwan described the incident differently: "We pushed each other, there was shouting and sudden gestures, but there were no blows or objects thrown," according to Mediapart. The woman also accused the diplomat of forcing a sexual act on her with violence, but Adwan insists that it was a "consensual" act.
The second accuser, Gabrielle*, a Lebanese student who worked at the embassy filed her complaint in February 2023. In the complaint, she said she had an intimate relationship with her superior, but the relationship was based on "fear and a system of punishments and rewards."
The woman also accused the ambassador of physical violence, non-consensual sexual relations and of trying to run her over with his car. Addressing the last accusation, Adwan told Mediapart that "the car skidded."
Gabrielle also reported that Adwan tried to suffocate her by "pushing her face into the bed."
"I pushed her away. I never tried to asphyxiate her," Adwan said in response.
'No comment'
On Friday morning, reports in the Lebanese media claimed the ambassador had been "arrested" for unspecified reasons. Contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour in the morning, Adwan denied these reports.
A source in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ministry "unfortunately has no comment to make at the moment."
Mediarpart also referred to articles in the Lebanese press from the early 2010s, notably al-Akhbar. According to these old reports, Adwan was previously the subject of at least one report of sexual assault when he was posted as a diplomat in The Hague, Netherlands.
*First name of the victim has been changed.