Families of Islamist Prisoners, the Lebanese Parliament Discuss an Amnesty Bill to Amnesty

JAKARTA - For years, the Lebanese parliament has been trying to pass a draft law (RUU) on a general amnesty, which aims to reduce overcrowding in the country's prisons.

However, the law has not reached a consensus due to sectarian and political divisions over who will benefit from its implementation.

Citing AFP, the Lebanese Parliament on Wednesday, July 15, began discussing and voting on more than 40 bills, including a bill to abolish the death penalty and an amnesty bill.

Amnesty has been a demand for families of Islamist detainees, some of whom are accused of attacking Lebanese soldiers, participating in clashes in the Sunni-majority Tripoli in the north, to planning bombings.

Thousands of families from the Baalbek and Hermel regions in the east, strongholds of the Shiite movement Hezbollah and its ally Amal where illegal cannabis cultivation is widespread, are also demanding amnesty for drug-related cases and theft.

Relatives of those who fled to Israel, after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in 2000, for fear of reprisals, particularly from Hezbollah and its supporters, also want their family members protected.

Lebanon had previously passed a general amnesty law after the 1975-1990 civil war, allowing former warlords to turn to politics without facing trial for crimes committed during the conflict.

Parliament will also vote on abolishing the death penalty, which was last applied in Lebanon in 2004.

The death penalty prevents Lebanon from extraditing criminals who have fled to countries that have abolished the punishment.

Wednesday's legislative session is the first held by the parliament since it postponed elections for two years in March due to the Israel-Hezbollah war.