The Lebanese Presidency denied information circulated by activists on social media, talking about the issuance of a new naturalization decree for a number of people of foreign and Arab nationalities. The Presidency confirmed that the new decree was for “the restoration of nationality for people of Lebanese descent.”
The restoration of citizenship decree included 423 people, mostly from Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Egypt, Uruguay, and South Africa.
A decree issued in the Official Gazette circulated on social media, including the names of hundreds of naturalized persons, has sparked confusion, as it comes after the naturalization decree issued in May 2018, which included Syrians, Palestinians, Jordanians, Iraqis, and other citizens from Western countries.
The Information Office in the Lebanese Presidency denied the reports, stressing that President Michel Aoun has issued a decree to restore the citizenship for a number of people of Lebanese origins.
“This news is false, fabricated, and deliberately promoted for well-known reasons,” an official statement said.
“Restoring citizenship decrees, published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette and reported by various media outlets, pertain to individuals residing abroad and of Lebanese descent. These decrees are issued according to Law No. 41 (24/11/2015), which defines the conditions for regaining Lebanese citizenship,” the statement added.
The media office of Minister of Interior Mohamed Fahmi also responded to the reports, saying in a statement: “Some have circulated on social media a list of names published in the Official Gazette, claiming it was part of a new naturalization decree.”
“The media office of Minister Fahmi is keen to clarify that the Minister has not filed any new decrees for naturalization since he assumed his duties as Minister of Interior and that the aforementioned names fall within decrees to restore Lebanese citizenship to those who deserve it, as per Law 41 of 2015,” it added.
