Lebanon's parliament has passed a long-disputed general amnesty law aimed mainly at easing severe prison overcrowding, ending months of political wrangling over which prisoners should benefit from reduced sentences.
Coming a day after Lebanon abolished the death penalty in a regional first, the amnesty marks another major shift in the approach of the small and deeply sectarian country to criminal justice.
Lebanon's current prison population is about 8,500 but capacity is only 4,500. Inmates are set to be released or have their sentences reduced depending on the type of offence.
Among the crimes excluded from the amnesty are terrorism offences, whether committed against civilians or the army, premeditated murder and rape.
For crimes not covered by the amnesty, sentences will be reduced under the law’s provisions: life imprisonment to 12 years, the death sentence to 21 years, and other prison terms by a third.
Lebanon's last amnesty of a similar size was in 1991 in the wake of the 1975-1990 civil war, when most fighters were pardoned.
Among the inmates who could be released or have their sentences reduced are 146 Islamist fighters, mostly convicted of attacking or killing armed forces members.
The session witnessed a heated debate over the Defence Minister not being given the opportunity to speak and give his opinion on the law.
The most contentious of those prisoners is the radical cleric Ahmad Al Assir, who was sentenced to death over deadly clashes between his supporters and the army in 2013. However, he is undergoing a retrial and on Tuesday parliament formally approved the abolition of the death penalty.
While the bill was being discussed in the committee stages in the months leading up to the vote, it threatened to further upset Lebanon's already delicate sectarian tension.
It was set to be debated in parliament in May, but Speaker Nabih Berri cancelled the session after protests broke out in Sunni-majority areas in response to reports suggesting Mr Al Assir and his supporters would not be included.
Aya Hosseiny Al Assir, daughter-in-law to Al Assir, told The National on Wednesday that he would not be released immediately.
He led clashes with the military in the southern city of Sidon in 2013, in which at least 18 soldiers and 25 pro-Assir fighters were killed. He and his supporters say he has been victimised for his support of the-then Syrian rebels against the Assad regime and his intense criticism of Hezbollah. The Assad regime would later be toppled by the rebels in December 2024.
But the idea of slashing the sentences of those who killed Lebanese soldiers is deeply sensitive to the military, whose previous commander is President Joseph Aoun.
However, despite the contentious nature of the law, there were no immediate signs of protests breaking out on the streets.
The abolition of the death penalty is retroactive, meaning existing death sentences are converted to prison terms. It is understood this was why the two bills were deliberately sequenced, with the death penalty abolition vote taking place before the amnesty law.
Imad Hout, a Sunni MP who supported the bill, said 79 Islamists would be released.
After the legislation was passed, videos quickly emerged online of inmates at Roumieh, Lebanon's largest and most overcrowded jail, cheering at the news.
'National achievement'
The law specifically states it was introduced due to “the chronic delay in issuing criminal judgments, and what has affected the essence and objectives of justice”.
Walid Baarini, a Sunni MP from Akkar, described the law's adoption as a “national achievement” that he hoped “restores the meaning of justice”.
MPs sympathetic to the plight of the Islamist detainees and supporters of Mr Al Assir argue they were victims of a judicial system – particularly the military court – that was too influenced by Hezbollah and its allies, including former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad.
But critics say Al Assir and his supporters are among Lebanon's most dangerous criminals and should remain in prison.
Some detainees are still waiting to face trial but have already been held for longer than the maximum prison term they could face if convicted.
Among those also set to be released are mid-level drug dealers, who are largely Shiite and originally from the Bekaa Valley.
Repeat drug offenders and Lebanese who have been convicted of collaborating with Israel were also excluded from the amnesty.
Some Christian politicians have since said the amnesty law allows Lebanese who fled to Israel in 2000 after the Israeli withdrawal from south Lebanon to return – but not those who fought alongside the Israelis.
