A former Iraqi legislator has been found dead in an apartment in Beirut, with his office describing the incident as an "assassination".
Lebanon's top prosecutor has launched an investigation into the killing of Ahmad Al Alwani, whose body was found in Beirut's Tariq Al Jdide neighbourhood after his family lost contact with him.
The investigation is being conducted by the Information Branch of Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces, the National News Agency said.
Mr Al Alwani, 57, was a prominent Sunni politician from Ramadi, the capital of Iraq’s Anbar province, and a member of the Albu Alwan tribe. He arrived in the Lebanese capital from Erbil in northern Iraq on Thursday, according to local media.
Members of his family reportedly lost contact with him and notified the Iraqi embassy, leading to the discovery of his body by police.
In a statement on X, Mr Al Alwani’s office described his death as an “assassination” and a “treacherous crime” and called for a transparent investigation and accountability.
“This is not a passing incident to be brushed aside with condolences and condemnation,” the statement said. “It is a crime that demands a firm official response and a transparent investigation that reveals who planned it, who carried it out and who else was involved. Whoever is behind it, no one is above accountability.”
A Lebanese judicial source told AFP that preliminary findings indicated Mr Al Alwani had been strangled and that a Lebanese national suspected of involvement had been arrested.
Authorities were also looking for two Syrian suspects who remain at large and who had driven Mr Al Alwani from the airport to his hotel when he arrived in Beirut last week, the source said.
Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mohammed Al Husseini, said Baghdad was following up with Lebanese security authorities on the circumstances of the killing.
Mr Al Alwani served two terms in the Iraqi parliament between 2005 and 2014, representing Anbar, and chaired its economic committee.
He rose to national prominence during mass protests in Anbar in 2012 and 2013 against the government of then-prime minister Nouri Al Maliki. Protesters accused the Shiite-led government of sectarian discrimination and marginalising Iraq’s Sunni community. Mr Al Alwani became a leading voice in the demonstrations and a central figure in the Ramadi sit-in.
His political career was cut short in December 2013, when security forces raided his home to arrest him. An armed clash during the operation left his brother, Ali Al Alwani, and several others dead. His arrest, despite his parliamentary immunity, sparked widespread political controversy.
In November 2014, the Central Criminal Court in Iraq sentenced him to death by hanging after convicting him of the premeditated murder of two soldiers during the raid, under Article 406 of the Iraqi Penal Code. He was released last year under Iraq’s General Amnesty Law.
Mr Al Alwani was also a vocal critic of Iranian influence in Iraq.
