What began as an attempt to free up space in Lebanon's severely overcrowded prisons has spiralled into the country's latest round of sectarian squabbling.
The dispute is over who should be included in a proposed general amnesty law, currently being discussed by parliamentary committees, to reduce the current prison population of about 8,500 in a country with a maximum capacity of roughly 4,500 in its detention facilities.
Each political faction or sectarian group wants its allies and supporters included and has argued vigorously to make their case.
A veteran politician pointed out that amnesty laws have been a long-running theme of Lebanese politics. “Every time there's an amnesty, there's a group of people who want it,” they said.
Many detainees are still waiting to face trial but have already been held for longer than the maximum prison term they could face if convicted of the charges against them.
“There is definitely some injustice here,” said another politician, who is opposed to Hezbollah. “Just like everything, instead of having the people in charge doing their job we resort to the easier way out: amending laws, measures and provisional measures, and revising legislation.”
Both politicians spoke to The National on condition of anonymity.
Members of the Lebanese parliament represent an array of religious faiths and deeply divided political groups.
The amnesty controversy is an unwanted distraction at a time when the country is saddled with Israel's occupation and destruction of large areas of southern Lebanon in its latest war with Hezbollah. It reflects the complex web and ever-shifting balance of power in Lebanon, along with the falling – but still very much present – grip of the Iran-backed Shiite armed group.
Some of the most controversial amnesty demands in recent months are for the inclusion of former president-elect Bachir Gemayel's assassin; the radical Sunni cleric Ahmad Al Assir and his supporters, convicted or accused of terror charges; collaborators with Israel; and drug dealers.
“Very unfortunately, in Lebanon, like everything, it becomes sectarian due to the system,” the veteran politician said. “So then justice will be lost and the compromises will occupy the place.”
The proposal to free Al Assir and his supporters, who are often branded Islamist extremists, is among the most controversial. Their case has been pushed forward by sympathetic Sunni MPs.
Al Assir, who is undergoing another trial, was previously sentenced to death by a Lebanese military court for leading clashes against the Lebanese Army – and allegedly Hezbollah fighters – in the southern city of Sidon in 2013, in which at least 18 soldiers and 25 pro-Assir fighters were killed.
The idea of reducing the sentences of those who shed the blood of Lebanese soldiers is highly sensitive to the military, whose previous commander is President Joseph Aoun.
“When discussing reductions for the so-called Islamist detainees, [the parliamentary committees] began to introduce obstacles into the law and tighten them so that only a few benefit,” said Aya Assir Hoseiny, Al Assir's daughter-in-law.
Al Assir, regarded widely as an extremist in Lebanon, has long railed against the influence of Hezbollah and its now deposed ally in Syria, the Assad regime, over the country. He is also a vocal supporter of the Syrian rebels who overthrew president Bashar Al Assad in December 2024 and formed the current government. Al Assir's supporters see him as a champion against Sunni oppression and argue that he and his imprisoned followers, believed to number around 140, are victims of a system and deep state previously controlled by Hezbollah and its allies.
“There has been no tangible progress on the security or judicial fronts, but people are less fearful than before, particularly following the fall of Bashar’s regime in Syria and the decline of Iran’s influence in Lebanon,” said Ms Hoseiny. “Public opinion has consequently become bolder and freer than before.”
Some Christians, including Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al Rai, have called for the implementation of a deeply controversial 2011 law that would allow for the return of former members of the South Lebanese Army, a civil war-era militia that allied and collaborated with Israel. Its members, regarded as traitors by many in Lebanon, also carried out widespread abuse against Lebanese during the previous Israeli occupation of south Lebanon that ended in 2000.
Some Shiite MPs from the eastern Bekaa region have called for the amnesty to include people convicted of drug crimes – many of whom come from the historically neglected area, arguing that the grim economic conditions there offered them no alternative livelihoods.
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party, a Hezbollah ally that is fairly small in Lebanon, has demanded the inclusion of its member Habib Chartouni, formerly a controversial Christian warlord, who was sentenced to death for assassinating Mr Gemayel in September 1982, a month after he was elected president.
A member of the Lebanese Forces – parliament's largest party and the political successor to the civil war-era militia Mr Gemayel commanded – described the demand as a “provocation”.
They told The National they also regarded it as an indirect message to Mr Aoun, who has been criticised by Hezbollah for pursuing direct talks with Israel.
Inclusion in the amnesty would not necessarily mean immediate release, especially for those imprisoned on serious charges. For example, according to some drafts of the law, a person sentenced to death such as Al Assir would have their sentence downgraded to imprisonment, while a life sentence would have a shorter minimum term.
Like many important but contentious items of legislation before it, the amnesty law is now on hold. After a series of swift meetings followed by an agreement at the parliamentary committee stage, influential Speaker Nabih Berri tabled a plenary parliamentary debate for last week, only to cancel it abruptly as tensions rose, including protests in Sunni-dominated areas when leaks suggested Al Assir would not be included.
“The general amnesty law was introduced to lift the injustice against Islamist detainees and was tabled by Sunni MPs, only for it to be transformed into an amnesty law covering deportees, drug offences and other crimes, thereby benefiting thousands while perpetuating injustice against Islamists,' said Ms Hoseiny. “This is what drove the Sunni street to rise up, take action and reject this continuing injustice.”
As is often the case in Lebanese politics, the issue will grind on before disappearing, or be settled behind closed doors and then brought to parliament.
“The Speaker has seen the reactions on the street,” the veteran politician said. “The country does not need more destabilisation: he preferred to postpone until they get a consensus about the amnesty law.”
