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US Lawmakers Urge Biden to Consider Sanctions on Lokman Slim’s Murderers

A memorial ceremony for Lokman Slim in garden of family residence in Beirut, on February 11, 2021. AFP
A memorial ceremony for Lokman Slim in garden of family residence in Beirut, on February 11, 2021. AFP
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US Lawmakers Urge Biden to Consider Sanctions on Lokman Slim’s Murderers

A memorial ceremony for Lokman Slim in garden of family residence in Beirut, on February 11, 2021. AFP
A memorial ceremony for Lokman Slim in garden of family residence in Beirut, on February 11, 2021. AFP

Two key US lawmakers called on President Joe Biden to consider using the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to sanction those responsible for the murder of Lebanese activist Lokman Slim.

“This brazen assassination of an outspoken activist is likely intended to intimidate and silence others, particularly in light of Lebanon’s tragic history of political assassinations without accountability for the perpetrators,” US House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks and Lead Republican Michael McCaul said in a letter sent to the US President.

The lawmakers added that the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act could serve as an appropriate tool to hold those responsible accountable for the Feb. 4 extrajudicial killing of Slim in south Lebanon.

Congressional sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that there were contacts between lawmakers and the State Department for a “suitable response” to the killing.

“Bipartisan leaders are exerting extensive pressure on the State Department to issue a firm response to the brutal killing,” the sources said.

The former administration of Donald Trump had imposed sanctions on Lebanese officials, mainly former Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, under the Global Magnitsky Act.

“Slim was a valued member of Lebanon’s civil society, promoting democratic participation while also holding accountable all members of the Lebanese government including Hezbollah,” the two lawmakers wrote in their letter to Biden.

The letter said Slim’s murder could constitute a “sanctionable gross violation of internationally recognized human rights” committed against a foreign person seeking to exercise and promote basic freedoms and the rule of law.

“We urge you to consider utilizing Magnitsky authorities in calibrating the appropriate response to Slim’s murder. We similarly urge you to consider any relevant information, including with respect to officials in the Governments of Lebanon and Iran, if appropriate in calibrating such a response,” the letter added.

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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
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‘War Ruined Me’: Lebanon’s Farmers Mourn Lost Season

This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
This photo shows burnt agricultural fields that were hit during Israeli shelling in the southern Lebanese area of Marjeyoun, on October 30, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

Lebanese farmer Abu Taleb briefly returned to his orchard last month to salvage an avocado harvest but ran away empty handed as soon as Israeli air raids began.

"The war broke out just before the first harvest season," said Abu Taleb, displaced from the village of Tayr Debba near the southern city Tyre.

"When I went back in mid-October, it was deserted... it was scary," said the father of two, who is now sheltering in Tripoli more than 160 kilometers to the north and asked to be identified by a pseudonym because of security concerns.

Abu Taleb said his harvesting attempt was interrupted by an Israeli raid on the neighboring town of Markaba.

He was forced back to Tripoli without the avocados he usually exports every year.

Agricultural regions in Lebanon have been caught in the crossfire since hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah ramped up in October last year, a full-scale war breaking out on September 23.

The UN's agriculture agency, FAO, said more than 1,909 hectares of farmland in south Lebanon had been damaged or left unharvested between October last year and September 28.

The conflict has also displaced more than half a million people, including farmers who abandoned their crops just when they were ready to harvest.

Hani Saad had to abandon 120 hectares of farmland in the southern region of Nabatiyeh, which is rich in citrus and avocado plantations.

"If the ceasefire takes place within a month, I can save the harvest, otherwise, the whole season is ruined," said Saad who has been displaced to the coastal city of Jounieh, north of Beirut.

When an Israeli strike sparked a fire in one of Saad's orchards, he had to pay out of his own pocket for the fuel of the fire engine that extinguished the blaze.

His employees, meanwhile, have fled. Of 32 workers, 28 have left, mainly to neighboring Syria.

- 'Worst phase' -

Israeli strikes have put at least two land crossings with Syria out of service, blocking a key export route for produce and crops.

Airlines have suspended flights to Lebanon as insurance costs soar.

This has dealt a deadly blow to agricultural exports, most of which are destined for Gulf Arab states.

Fruit exporter Chadi Kaadan said exports to the Gulf have dropped by more than 50 percent.

The supply surplus in the local market has caused prices to plummet at home, he added.

"In the end, it is the farmer who loses," said Saad who used to earn $5,000 a day before the war started. Today, he barely manages $300.

While avocados can stay on the tree for months, they are starting to run out of water following Israeli strikes on irrigation channels, Saad said.

Citrus fruits and cherimoyas have already started to fall.

"The war has ruined me. I spend my time in front of the TV waiting for a ceasefire so I can return to my livelihood," Saad told AFP.

Gaby Hage, a resident of the Christian town of Rmeish, on the border with Israel, is one of the few farmers who decided to stay in south Lebanon.

He has only been able to harvest 100 of his 350 olive trees, which were left untended for a year because of cross-border strikes.

"I took advantage of a slight lull in the fighting to pick what I could," he told AFP.

Hage said agriculture was a lifeline for the inhabitants of his town, which has been cut off by the war.

Ibrahim Tarchichi, president of the farmers' union in the Bekaa Valley, which was hit hard by the strikes, believes that agriculture in Lebanon is going through the "worst phase" of its recent history.

"I have experienced four wars, it has never been this serious," he said.