Lebanon's Ambassador to France Rami Adwan, during a trip to Metz, in northeastern France. (Credit: Facebook/AmbLibanFrance)
Rami Adwan, the former Lebanese ambassador to France, has been summoned to address the accusations filed against him by two former embassy employees, who were also his mistresses. The complaints lodged in June 2022 and in February 2023, accused Adwan of “rape, psychological, and physical violence.”
The case surfaced on June 2 after the French online media outlet Mediapart published an article on the matter. Since then, Adwan and his lawyer in Paris, Karim Baylouni, have consistently denied the allegations.
After the two young women lodged complaints, the French police conducted investigations, leading Paris to request the Lebanese government to waive Adwan’s immunity for potential prosecution. This request was denied.
On June 7, caretaker Foreign Minister, Abdallah Bou Habib, dispatched a delegation to Paris composed of Hani Chmaytelli (the Ministry’s Secretary General) and Hadi Hachem (Director of the Inspectorate within the Ministry), to conduct an administrative investigation.
A source close to the case revealed that the committee quickly produced an investigation report, which was then submitted to Bou Habib. The report included recommendations for Adwan’s recall to the central administration in Beirut and for his case to be brought before the Lebanese courts. Bou Habib approved these recommendations, and they were put into action the following day.
Consequently, Adwan was dismissed from his post and the investigation report was passed onto Ghassan Oueidate, the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation.
In turn, Oueidate instructed Raja Hamouche, the Public Prosecutor at the Beirut Court of Appeal, to compile a file regarding the matter.
Judge Hamouche has yet to summon Adwan, purportedly because he is waiting to gather more evidence before proceeding. Interestingly, even though the Foreign Affairs Committee already questioned Adwan in Paris, it did not take statements from the two accusers, as revealed by a source close to the ministry who spoke to L’Orient-Le Jour on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the case.
Given this situation, Hamouche has the option to request the French justice system to provide him with a copy of the compiled file or summon the two former embassy employees for questioning. However, it is possible that either request could be denied.
In any case, Hamouche has the authority to question Adwan, even before obtaining other crucial elements related to the case.
Lebanese jurisdiction
Why did Lebanon refuse the request to waive Adwan’s immunity?
According to the source close to the Foreign Ministry, this happened because “it was out of the question to create a precedent by allowing a foreign state to prosecute a serving ambassador.”
According to Akram Azoury, Adwan’s lawyer in Lebanon, the withdrawal of diplomatic immunity requires the agreement of the state that appointed the ambassador, in this case, Lebanon.
“Nevertheless, to prevent impunity, the law specifies that while a diplomat enjoys immunity in the country of assignment, they can be prosecuted in their own country for acts committed abroad,” Azoury told L’Orient-Le Jour. “This is in contrast to regular citizens who are not subject to such a rule.”
Azoury denied the reports claiming Adwan filed a defamation lawsuit in Lebanon against the two women for accusing him of rape and violence.
Ambassadorial status
On the diplomatic front, despite Adwan no longer holding his post in Paris, he still retains his ambassadorial status, as confirmed by the aforementioned Foreign Ministry source. This is because Adwan has neither submitted his resignation nor has the cabinet which named him revoked his appointment.
The law states that an ambassador without a portfolio, like Adwan, is deemed to have resigned as soon as the mandate of the appointing president expires. However, in practice, no ambassador has ever been treated as having resigned under such circumstances.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Sahar Ghoussoub.