After years of silence, Lebanon reopens high-profile assassination files: What’s behind the move?

Report by Lara El Hachem, English adaptation by Karine Keuchkerian

In the drawers of Lebanon’s Justice Palaces lie dozens of assassination and attempted assassination files, long covered in dust from years of neglect.

These cases were referred to the Judicial Council over the decades through government decrees issued immediately after each crime, and special investigative judges were appointed. Yet no verdicts were ever reached — due to political interference, negligence, or a lack of sufficient evidence.

The surprise came with the appointment of 11 new investigative judges to handle 11 such cases, including some of Lebanon’s most high-profile assassinations — among them the 1978 killing of Tony Frangieh and his family, the attempted assassination of former President Camille Chamoun in the early 1980s, and the assassinations of Gebran Tueni in 2005 and Pierre Gemayel in 2006. 

The question now is what lies behind these appointments, which are made by the justice minister upon the recommendation of the Higher Judicial Council.

Many of these posts have been vacant for years due to retirements, deaths, or resignations. With the appointments at the Judicial Council now complete, the Higher Judicial Council proposed filling these vacancies to revive dormant cases under its jurisdiction — and the justice minister approved.

According to information obtained, Chief Justice Suhail Abboud will meet next Monday with the appointed judges to discuss why progress had stalled, explore ways to reactivate the cases, and outline the necessary steps to resume work. 

Judicial sources say the situation can no longer remain frozen: either an investigative judge revives a case if new leads exist, or concludes that the trail has gone cold and the file should be closed for lack of evidence. In that case, a standing order is issued to security agencies to report any future developments.

It’s worth noting that under former Justice Minister Henri Khoury, there had been earlier attempts to fill these vacancies, but the turmoil surrounding the Beirut Port explosion case, judges’ strikes, and the country’s overall political climate prevented progress.

Today, circumstances in Lebanon — and in Syria, which some political factions accuse of involvement in several assassinations — have changed. 

The judiciary, therefore, is expected to fulfill its responsibilities. Reorganizing these files could first allow the use of evidence from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon for cross-referencing with other assassinations, and second, benefit from any information that may emerge from Syria amid the ongoing cooperation between the two countries. 

Justice Minister Adel Nassar had also previously asked his Syrian counterpart to hand over Bachir Gemayel’s assassin, Habib Shartouni, along with other fugitives wanted in Lebanon.