Lebanese investigators in Paris after rape allegations against ambassador

A Lebanese delegation is to travel to Paris on Tuesday to speak to diplomats and employees of the Lebanese embassy following rape and violence accusations against ambassador Rami Adwan . AFP reported that French authorities were set to request Lebanon to remove Mr Adwan's diplomatic immunity on Monday. A French diplomatic source told The National that they have not yet received any such request in Beirut. “The delegation will also talk with the concerned French authorities if needed,” caretaker Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib told The National. This comes after two former Lebanese embassy employees in France lodged complaints against Mr Adwan, 47, alleging rape and intentional acts of violence. Mr Bou Habib said Lebanon has not received any official communication from the French government on the allegations against its ambassador, who has been stationed in Paris since 2017. “It is all media news,” he said. He did not comment on whether Lebanon would lift Mr Adwan's immunity, which prevents any legal action. International conventions on diplomatic relations protect diplomats from prosecution within the jurisdiction of the country where they are stationed. “Given the seriousness of the alleged acts, we believe it is necessary for the Lebanese authorities to lift the immunity of the Lebanese ambassador in Paris in order to facilitate the work of the French justice system,” the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP on Friday. Mr Adwan's lawyer Karim Beylouni told AFP that his client “contests all accusations of aggression in any shape or form: verbal, moral, sexual”. Mr Adwan is known to be a close ally of former Lebanese President Michel Aoun, the founder the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM), one of Lebanon's biggest Christian parties. He was appointed as the head of the cabinet of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Gebran Bassil, son-in-law of Mr Aoun and now leader of the FPM. He served as the minister from 2014 to 2020. The ambassador pursued his higher education studies in France and graduated from the prestigious National School of Administration alongside French President Emmanuel Macron. According to French investigative newspaper Mediapart , the accusations were made by two women who said they were in secret intimate relationships with Mr Adwan. The first plaintiff, 31, filed a complaint last year. She accused Mr Adwan of raping her in 2020 in his private quarters at the embassy. She also told police he had struck her on the head with a marble paperweight, resulting in multiple injuries as documented by hospital reports. The second plaintiff, aged 28, filed a complaint alleging intentional violence in 2023. She told police she had suffered a series of rapes, violence and abuses, including being dragged on the ground by her hair and being locked in a room against her will. She alleged that in December last year Mr Adwan attempted to suffocate her on a mattress after she refused to engage in intercourse with him. Mr Adwan denounced to Mediapart “accusations that make no sense” and denied all the reported incidents.

Lebanese investigators in Paris after rape allegations against ambassador

Two former Lebanese embassy employees in France lodged complaints against Rami Adwan alleging rape and intentional acts of violence.