Lebanon is to send a team of investigators to Paris after its ambassador to France, Rami Adwan, was accused of rape and intentional violence, the Foreign Ministry said.
France has launched an investigation into Mr Adwan following complaints by two former embassy employees, according to sources.
The French government has urged Lebanese authorities to lift the ambassador's diplomatic immunity.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said they have decided to “urgently send an investigation committee headed by the ministry's secretary-general … to the embassy in Paris to question the concerned ambassador and hear statements from embassy staff”.
The committee will meet French authorities “to clarify that which was reported in the media and which was not communicated to the Lebanese foreign ministry via diplomatic channels”
Reports in local media suggest that the first former employee, 31, filed her complaint in June last year over a rape she says was committed in May 2020 in the ambassador's private apartment.
According to the complaint, she had a relationship with the ambassador, who carried out “psychological and physical violence with daily humiliations”.
The second woman, 28, made a complaint last February after what she said was a series of physical attacks after she turned down sexual relations.
She claimed Mr Adwan tried to hit her with his car after an argument at the Normandy World Peace Forum.
“In view of the seriousness of the facts mentioned, we consider it necessary for the Lebanese authorities to lift the immunity of the Lebanese ambassador in Paris in order to facilitate the work of the French judicial authorities,” the French Foreign Ministry said.
Mr Adwan's lawyer Karim Beylouni has said that his client “contests all accusations of aggression in any shape or form: verbal, moral, sexual”.
He said Mr Adwan had had “romantic relationships” with the two women between 2018 and 2022 that were “punctuated by arguments and breakups”.
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Report to local authorities
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Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
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D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
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Tournament rules
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The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
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The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
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180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
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