Conflict Incident Report

Families of Islamist prisoners staged protests across Lebanon, urging officials to speed up the issuance of an amnesty law.

The protests, which included demonstrations in Sidon, Baalbek and Tripoli, also demanded that the amnesty be “all-inclusive,” after President Michel Aoun affirmed Thursday that such amnesty would not include those involved in the killing of Army personnel.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri has meanwhile said that amnesty would exclude individuals imprisoned for killing Army personnel during clashes in the Sidon suburb of Abra in 2013 and Tripoli in 2014.

Families of prisoners involved in the 2013 Abra clashes held a protest in front of Sidon’s Aisha mosque after Friday’s prayer, the state-run National News Agency reported. The protesters demanded full amnesty that includes all of their relatives “without exception.”

The Committee for the General Amnesty meanwhile took to the streets in Baalbek, briefly blocking a road while holding posters calling on Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Hariri to “speed up” the general amnesty process, according to NNA.

Similarly, the road near the Tripoli Serail was also blocked by protesters who shared the same demands.

The protesters have been calling for clemency for their relatives, many of whom were arrested on suspicion of joining outlawed Islamist groups, taking up arms against the state or “undermining the Army.”

A general amnesty is being discussed by lawmakers with the aim of being passed before the current Parliament’s term ends. The amnesty would have to be put forward by Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk and Justice Minister Salim Jreissati, and be approved by Aoun.