Lebanon handed over the body of former Iraqi MP Ahmed Al Alwani for transfer to Baghdad late on Friday, Iraq's embassy in Beirut said, amid investigations into his killing.
Mr Al Alwani, 57, a prominent Sunni politician and former member of parliament from the western Anbar province, was found dead this week in an apartment in Beirut's Tariq Al Jdideh district, days after arriving in Lebanon from Iraq's Kurdistan region.
Initial findings indicated that he had been struck on the head and strangled. Lebanese authorities have yet to establish a motive for the killing.
Lebanon's prosecutor general, Judge Ahmad Rami Al Hajj, authorised the release of the body to the Iraqi embassy at the request of Mr Al Alwani's family. The handover followed the completion of medical and forensic examinations, the embassy said in a statement.
His identity was confirmed through comparing DNA samples from the body with those from Mr Al Alwani's son, as well as through a scan of the remains, the statement added. It said a copy of the forensic medical report would be provided to his family.
Arrangements have begun for the body's swift return to Iraq. Iraqi and Lebanese authorities are continuing to co-ordinate on the investigation, said Iraq's Ambassador in Beirut Mohammed Ridha Al Husseini said.
The case has triggered widespread attention in Iraq, where Mr Al Alwani was a well-known figure in anti-government Sunni protests in 2012 and 2013. He was arrested in late 2013, sentenced to death on terrorism-related charges the following year, and released in 2025 after spending more than a decade in prison.
Lebanese authorities have identified three suspects, including a Lebanese national already in custody and two Syrians who investigators say fled across the border into Syria after the killing. Beirut has requested that Damascus arrest and extradite the two Syrian suspects, while officials say investigations into the motive are continuing.
The killing has fuelled speculation in Iraq over whether Mr Al Alwani was the victim of a criminal act or a politically motivated assassination, though Lebanese authorities have said no conclusions have yet been reached.
