Supporters of the Islamist preacher Ahmad al-Assir during a sit-in in Saida in December 2021. (Credit: Muntasser Abdallah/L'Orient-Le Jour)
The fate of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir — who has been held for more than 11 years and was sentenced to death by a military court in 2017 for his role in the deadly clashes between the Lebanese Army and his supporters in Abra, near Saida, in June 2013 — has become the subject of a legal dispute.At the heart of the controversy lies the Constitutional Council’s interpretation of provisions governing sentence reductions under the general amnesty law passed by Parliament on Sept.4, 2026, particularly in light of the abolition of the death penalty in August. Read more General amnesty: Sunni MPs declare war on the Constitutional Council Article 3 of the amnesty law states that “for crimes committed before the law comes into force, the death penalty shall be commuted to 28 years in prison, while life imprisonment with hard labor shall...
The fate of Salafist Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir — who has been held for more than 11 years and was sentenced to death by a military court in 2017 for his role in the deadly clashes between the Lebanese Army and his supporters in Abra, near Saida, in June 2013 — has become the subject of a legal dispute.At the heart of the controversy lies the Constitutional Council’s interpretation of provisions governing sentence reductions under the general amnesty law passed by Parliament on Sept.4, 2026, particularly in light of the abolition of the death penalty in August. Read more General amnesty: Sunni MPs declare war on the Constitutional Council Article 3 of the amnesty law states that “for crimes committed before the law comes into force, the death penalty shall be commuted to 28 years in prison, while life imprisonment with hard...
2 p.m. recap: Conference in support of Lebanese Army 'after Israeli elections'; Houthi drones intercepted in Saudi Arabia; return to Braasheet after threats