For the first time in Lebanon, Cases Authority files domestic violence lawsuit

For the first time in the history of the Lebanese judiciary, the Justice Ministry’s Cases Authority instituted civil proceedings in a domestic violence case in which a father is accused of inflicting blows, burns, fractures and confinement on his daughters and wife. 

By doing so, the Cases Authority, chaired by John Azzi, underscored that the state’s obligation is not limited to protecting its material and financial interests, but rather extends to defending the moral and fundamental rights, safety and dignity of its citizens, particularly abused minors.

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In June, the Internal Security Forces’ (ISF) operations room learned from an unknown caller that a father living in Wadi Zahieh (Chouf) was torturing his children and wife. 

Shortly after, the abuser’s sister also alerted the security service. 

The police station in Saadiyat (Mount Lebanon) opened an investigation that revealed that the abuse included cigarette burns on the body and face, electric shocks and rib fractures.

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The case was then referred to Mount Lebanon Investigative Judge Joelle Issa al-Khoury, before whom Judge Azzi joined the proceedings as a civil party in his capacity as head of the Cases Authority. 

He demanded the arrest of the suspect, compensation for the victims, and the adoption of measures to ensure the safety of the family members. 

A source at the Justice Palace said Judge Issa al-Khoury acknowledged the Cases Authority’s jurisdiction to join the proceedings, considering that it was fulfilling a national duty to defend human dignity.

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After the prosecutor at the Baabda Court of Appeals issued the perusal in October, the judge recently issued the indictment, based in particular on articles of the Penal Code related to deprivation of liberty and physical violence, as well as on the Domestic Violence Law (2021). 

The case was then transferred to the Mount Lebanon Criminal Court.

This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour by Joelle El Khoury.

Pour la première fois au Liban, le Contentieux de l’État porte plainte pour violences domestiques