Lebanon’s proposed amnesty law sparks debate over justice, sentencing and prison overcrowding

Report by Joe Farchakh, English adaptation by Mariella Succar

When general amnesty is mentioned in Lebanon, memories often return to the post-civil war amnesty law of 1991, which closed one of the country’s bloodiest chapters under the principle of “forgive and forget.”

But the proposal currently under discussion in parliament is not a revival of the 1991 law. Instead, it focuses primarily on exceptionally reducing certain prison sentences rather than granting blanket pardons.

Under the proposal, detainees would not be released without trial. The draft law centers on reducing prison terms, particularly those tied to death sentences and life imprisonment, while also seeking to accelerate delayed judicial proceedings and address the cases of detainees who have not been tried or remain held without arrest warrants.

The renewed debate comes amid growing criticism of delays within Lebanon’s judicial system and worsening prison overcrowding. Lebanese prisons currently hold more than 8,000 inmates and detainees, many of whom have not yet received final verdicts.

Critics argue that when detainees spend years awaiting trial or sentencing, calls for general amnesty become the result of institutional dysfunction rather than part of a comprehensive justice reform plan.

Concerns surrounding the proposed law have centered on whether it could apply to serious crimes, including rape, embezzlement of public funds, murder, treason, espionage and drug trafficking, as well as whether it could override personal legal claims filed by victims’ families.

Sources told LBCI that discussions held in Baabda between several MPs — at their request — and President Joseph Aoun, in the presence of Defense Minister Michel Menassa, resulted in an agreement on three key disputed points.

The first concerns sentencing. Death penalties would be replaced with 20 years in prison, while life sentences would also be converted into 20 years in prison. Under Lebanese law, one prison year is calculated as nine months.

The second point relates to clearly defining prison terms, while the third concerns the treatment of merged or cumulative sentences.

Discussions also addressed the cases of individuals who failed to appear before the courts and remain fugitives.

However, the proposal to release detainees without trial was rejected. Officials instead agreed that such detainees should face trial and would not benefit from any amnesty measures.

Despite the reported agreement, political divisions quickly resurfaced. Parliamentary sources told LBCI that Monday’s joint parliamentary committees session was canceled after some lawmakers objected to what they described as the exclusion of several MPs from the Baabda meeting.

Political discussions so far do not indicate that a final consensus has been reached over the proposed law, nor that a new parliamentary committee session will be scheduled soon. Discussions, however, are expected to continue in the coming days.