The draft general amnesty law has been stuck in long and tedious negotiations for months, even years. The rise of President Ahmad al-Sharaa to power in Syria and his insistence on transferring Syrian detainees from Lebanese prisons to Syrian authorities were expected to give this dossier a strong push forward, given that Islamist detainees, both Lebanese and Syrian, make up the largest part of the prisoners who could benefit from this law.Conflicts, however, reappear as soon as discussions reach the core issues. In Lebanon, debates and political issues often quickly take on a sectarian tone, but in this case, another factor is also at play: the Lebanese Army. In fact due to the army’s reservations, the defense minister had to withdraw from the Parliament during the previous meeting of the parliamentary committees tasked with examining...
The draft general amnesty law has been stuck in long and tedious negotiations for months, even years. The rise of President Ahmad al-Sharaa to power in Syria and his insistence on transferring Syrian detainees from Lebanese prisons to Syrian authorities were expected to give this dossier a strong push forward, given that Islamist detainees, both Lebanese and Syrian, make up the largest part of the prisoners who could benefit from this law.Conflicts, however, reappear as soon as discussions reach the core issues. In Lebanon, debates and political issues often quickly take on a sectarian tone, but in this case, another factor is also at play: the Lebanese Army. In fact due to the army’s reservations, the defense minister had to withdraw from the Parliament during the previous meeting of the parliamentary committees tasked with...
