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Lebanon’s Parliament Meets Wednesday to Discuss General Amnesty Law

Speaker Berri met with MPs from the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc on Monday. (NNA)
Speaker Berri met with MPs from the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc on Monday. (NNA)
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Lebanon’s Parliament Meets Wednesday to Discuss General Amnesty Law

Speaker Berri met with MPs from the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc on Monday. (NNA)
Speaker Berri met with MPs from the Democratic Gathering parliamentary bloc on Monday. (NNA)

Lebanon’s parliament bureau will meet on Wednesday to discuss a general amnesty law in light of a spike in COVID-19 cases in the country’s jails.

The announcement was made after Speaker Nabih Berri received at his Ain al-Tineh residence a delegation of the Democratic Gathering, including MPs Hadi Abul Hosn, Bilal Abdullah and Faisal al-Sayegh.

“Discussions focused on holding a legislative session to discuss and approve a general amnesty law in light of the crisis in the country due to the impact of the coronavirus and the spread of the disease in Roumieh prison and other jails,” Abul Hosn said after the meeting.

The head of the doctors' union, Sharaf Abu Sharaf, warned that there are more than 200 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Roumieh prison, the country’s largest and most overcrowded facility.

He called on authorities to speed up trials to ease overcrowding, in a country where suspects can languish in jail for months without a hearing.

Last week, families of prisoners held a sit-in in front of the Justice Palace in Beirut, amid tight security measures, demanding general amnesty for their loved ones and expressing fear of the increasing number of infections.

Roumieh prison houses more than 4,000 prisoners, around three times its intended capacity, and has long been infamous for its poor conditions.

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Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
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Lebanon's Parliament Renews Army Chief's Term in First Session after Ceasefire

Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanese policeman stand outside the parliament building in downtown Beirut, Lebanon October 17, 2017. (Reuters)

Lebanon's parliament Thursday renewed the term of army chief Joseph Aoun, who is seen as a potential presidential candidate in next year's vote.

The parliament has seldom met since Israel’s war with Hezbollah began 14 months ago, and has not convened to try to elect a president since June 2023, leaving the country in a political gridlock.

Thursday’s session is the first since a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect on Wednesday which has left the Lebanese military responsible for ensuring Hezbollah fighters leave the country's south and its facilities dismantled. The army is expected to receive international aid to help deploy troops to deploy in the south to exert full state control there, The AP reported.

Gen. Joseph Aoun is seen as a likely presidential candidate due to his close relationship with the international community and his hold on an institution that is seen as a rare point of unity in the country facing political and sectarian tensions. Lebanon has been without a president since Oct. 31, 2022.

It is unclear whether the decision to renew Aoun's term will impact his chances as Lebanon's next president.

Hezbollah and some of its key allies and their legislators have been skeptical of a Aoun presidency due to his close relationship with Washington.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who spearheaded negotiations with the United States to end the war, also called for parliament to convene on Jan. 9, 2025 to elect a president, the first attempt in almost 19 months.

French special envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, tasked by French President Emmanuel Macron with helping Lebanon break its political deadlock, observed the session before meeting with Berri and later caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Berri, in an address Wednesday, urged political parties to pick a president that will bring Lebanon's rival groups together, in a bid to keep the war-torn and financially battered country from further deteriorating amid fears of internal political tensions between Hezbollah and its political opponents following the war.

The militant group's opponents, who believe Hezbollah should be completely disarmed, are furious that it made the unilateral decision to go to war with Israel in solidarity with its ally Hamas in the Gaza Strip.