Lebanon: international community ‘frustrated’ by flawed probe in activist’s death

Lokman Slim was assassinated one year ago in South Lebanon

German documentary filmmaker Monika Borgmann, the widow of prominent Lebanese activist and intellectual Lokman Slim, stands by her husband’s grave at her home in a southern suburb of Beirut. AFP

Top western diplomats have expressed their frustration with a Lebanese probe into the assassination of activist and intellectual Lokman Slim one year ago.

They spoke during a ceremony held under tight surveillance at his family home in a Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut.

“To our frustration, one year after Lokman’s murder, the investigation is still ongoing and there are fears that those responsible might never be brought to justice,” deputy German ambassador Katharina Lack said in a speech.

“The state may, in fact, be giving up on its own authority to uphold the law.”

The US ambassador to Lebanon, Dorothy Shea, echoed Ms Lack’s criticism of Lebanon’s security forces and judiciary forces.

Lokman Slim with his dog. "He was a generous person and loved people. He even loved trees and the garden and animals generally," recalled Ahmad Jaber. Lokman Slim / Facebook

Lokman Slim was a Shiite Muslim secular intellectual known for his opposition to the Shiite movement Hezbollah. AFP

Slim, who is remembered by friends as multi-talented, was also a publisher who ran a research centre focused on Lebanese culture and history. Reuters

Lokman Slim's office. "Lokman is a researcher. Lokman is a writer. Lokman is an artist. Lokman was a man of political opinions. Lokman was an outstanding personality," said Ali El Amine. Reuters

Slim speaks during a conference in Beirut, Lebanon, 04 February 2021. EPA photo

“It is even more troubling to see that there has yet to be justice, there has yet to be accountability,” Ms Shea said in front of a crowd of a few dozen people, including Slim’s relatives, gathered in the garden of his home.

“The use of threats and intimidation to subvert the rule of law and silence political discourse and dissent remains unacceptable.”

On the same day, Human Rights Watch issued a scathing report of “multiple failures, gross negligence and procedure violations” in four recent politically sensitive murders, including Slim’s.

The family home was surrounded by heavy security during the ceremony, causing long traffic jams in the area. The district is controlled by Iran-backed Hezbollah and is rarely visited by foreign officials.

Slim, 58, was a prominent Lebanese intellectual and an unabashed critic of the Shiite militant group despite receiving threats against his life for over a decade before his death. His body was found riddled with bullets in his rental car in south Lebanon on February 4, 2020.

On Thursday, local daily newspaper L’Orient-Le Jour reported that Slim was kidnapped on the evening of February 3, 400 metres from the home of a friend. Its investigation found that his kidnappers drove him in his rental car for 36 kilometres before they shot him.

His widow, German citizen Monika Borgmann, said during Thursday’s ceremony that Lokman had been kidnapped “less than one kilometre, door to door, from the entrance of the main military barracks of the French battalion in [the town of] Srifa.”

She called “on the international community to help us to provide us with all information needed to identify Lokman’s murders and to bring them to justice”.

In March, UN human rights experts urged the Lebanese government to ensure a “credible and effective investigation” into Slim’s death was held.

The local investigation was transferred from south Lebanon to Beirut in October last year at the request of state prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat. Such transfers take place when a judge believes that public safety is at risk.

But little has happened since despite family members and their lawyer attending hearings in the office of the Beirut judge, Charbel Abou Samra, three times so far.

A judicial source told The National on Thursday that he is still waiting for the previous judge, Rahif Ramadan, to send him important evidence.

The request was made two months ago. The source gave no reason for the delay.