Lebanon Turns into Haven for Lebanese Fugitives Wanted Abroad

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh (C), greets employees on his last working day as the head of the Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, 31 July 2023. (EPA)
Lebanon's Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh (C), greets employees on his last working day as the head of the Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, 31 July 2023. (EPA)
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Lebanon Turns into Haven for Lebanese Fugitives Wanted Abroad

Lebanon's Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh (C), greets employees on his last working day as the head of the Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, 31 July 2023. (EPA)
Lebanon's Central Bank Governor, Riad Salameh (C), greets employees on his last working day as the head of the Central Bank in Beirut, Lebanon, 31 July 2023. (EPA)

Lebanon has become a haven for Lebanese fugitives wanted by international law. These fugitives are often dual nationals and take advantage of a Lebanese law that bars their extradition to the countries where they are wanted.

Among the most prominent fugitives are former Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, who is wanted in Europe, and former Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn, who is wanted in Japan.

They also include Hezbollah members wanted by the United States and who have been sanctioned by Washington, as well as party members wanted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon that was looking into the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The STL used to send monthly requests to Lebanon demanding the arrest of the fugitives while authorities have constantly replied that they could not find them.

As for Salameh and Ghosn, judicial sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Lebanon refuses to turn them over because they have the Lebanese nationality.

In such cases, when proven that the crimes they are wanted for are “serious”, then they would be put on trial in Lebanon because the local judiciary alone has the jurisdiction to try any citizen, even if they have committed a crime abroad, explained the source.

According to Lebanese law, a Lebanese dual national cannot be extradited even if they are wanted by the country of their second nationality, it added.

The law has been criticized, with claims that it actually protects fugitives from international prosecution.

Former general prosecutor Hatem Madi refused to describe Lebanon as a haven for international fugitives.

He told Asharq Al-Awsat: “Lebanon is a member of Interpol, and it is obligated to turn over wanted foreign suspects when it receives a notice.”

Only Lebanese nationals and dual nationals are exempt from the Interpol law, he went on to say.

The state doesn’t turn over its citizens, but it puts them on trial before Lebanese courts, Madi said.

Furthermore, he explained that Lebanese law bars international fugitives from entering Lebanon, but some have ended up secretly entering the country. In such cases, the security agencies would be tasked with finding and arresting them.

The majority of international fugitives have been deported to the countries where they are wanted. Cases are weighed by the government, which has the authority to demand that the fugitives be arrested. The request is then referred to the judiciary for review before being passed on again to the government, which weighs the “political and sovereign” implications of the arrest.

Only then will it decide whether to go ahead with an arrest or not.

Contrary to Lebanese nationals, Lebanon has never wavered in turning over foreign fugitives.

The latest such case was the deportation of an Italian, who was wanted by Interpol for his involvement in drug smuggling between Europe and Africa.

At the time, public prosecutor Ghassan Ouweidat had issued a warrant for his arrest, which was approved by caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury.

Another case dates back two decades when Germany requested the arrest of Palestinians in Lebanon who were wanted for a café bombing in Germany that left five people dead.

Initially, Lebanon had refused to deport them because they did not hold the nationality of any country, recalled Madi.

They were tried and acquitted by a Lebanese court, but it was revealed that the government later ended up deporting them to Germany, he added.



Amputee Palestinian Boy Image Wins World Press Photo Award

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)
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Amputee Palestinian Boy Image Wins World Press Photo Award

This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)
This image provided by World Press Photo and taken by Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times, won the World Press Photo Award of the Year and shows Mahmoud Ajjour (9), who was injured during an Israeli attack on Gaza City in March 2024, finds refuge and medical help in Doha, Qatar, 28 June 2024. (Samar Abu Elouf, for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)

A haunting portrait of a nine-year-old Palestinian boy who lost both arms during an Israeli attack on Gaza City won the 2025 World Press Photo of the Year Award Thursday.

The picture, by Samar Abu Elouf for The New York Times, depicts Mahmoud Ajjour, evacuated to Doha after an explosion severed one arm and mutilated the other last year.

"One of the most difficult things Mahmoud's mother explained to me was how when Mahmoud first came to the realisation that his arms were amputated, the first sentence he said to her was, 'How will I be able to hug you'?" said Elouf.

The photographer is also from Gaza and was herself evacuated in December 2023. She now portrays badly wounded Palestinians based in Doha.

"This is a quiet photo that speaks loudly. It tells the story of one boy, but also of a wider war that will have an impact for generations," said Joumana El Zein Khoury, World Press Photo Executive Director.

The jury praised the photo's "strong composition and attention to light" and its thought-provoking subject-matter, especially questions raised over Mahmoud's future.

The boy is now learning to play games on his phone, write, and open doors with his feet, the jury said.

"Mahmoud's dream is simple: he wants to get prosthetics and live his life as any other child," said the World Press Photo organisers in a statement.

The jury also selected two photos for the runner-up prize.

The first, entitled "Droughts in the Amazon" by Musuk Nolte for Panos Pictures and the Bertha Foundation, shows a man on a dried-up river bed in the Amazon carrying supplies to a village once accessible by boat.

The second, "Night Crossing" by John Moore shooting for Getty Images, depicts Chinese migrants huddling near a fire during a cold rainshower after crossing the US–Mexico border.

The jury sifted through 59,320 photographs from 3,778 photo journalists to select 42 prize-winning shots from around the world.

Photographers for Agence France-Presse were selected four times for a regional prize, more than any other organization.

Nairobi-based Luis Tato won in the "Stories" category for the Africa region for a selection of photos depicting Kenya's youth uprising.

Jerome Brouillet won in the "Singles" category Asia-Pacific and Oceania for his iconic picture of surfer Gabriel Medina seemingly floating above the waves.

Clarens Siffroy won in the "Stories" category North and Central America for his coverage of the gang crisis in Haiti.

Finally, Anselmo Cunha won in the "Singles" category for South America for his photo of a Boeing 727-200 stranded at Salgado Filho International Airport in Brazil.