Constitutional Council suspends general amnesty law
The Constitutional Council on Thursday issued a decision suspending the effect of the general amnesty law that was recently approved by parliament, after an appeal was filed against the law by the Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc.
The law will remain suspended until the council issues a final verdict.
“After deliberating on the challenge filed … the Council decided -- by a majority vote -- to suspend the effect of the contested law. It was also decided to formally notify the President of the Republic, the Speaker of Parliament, and the Prime Minister of this decision, and to publish it in the Official Gazette,” the decision said.
FPM chief Gebran Bassil noted Wednesday that the law would grant amnesty to perpetrators of murder, rape, attacks against the army and other offenses.
"Our goal is to amend the law so that it specifically targets the limited number of aggrieved Islamists who have remained untried for years,” Bassil said.
He emphasized that "defending the army is a duty, not a stance against any specific sect.”
“The military’s martyrs hail from diverse sects, with the majority being Sunni," Bassil pointed out. He added: "We want to reassure military personnel that when they are deployed on a mission, those who kill them will not be granted amnesty. This matter concerns not just the army or a particular sect, but Lebanon as a whole."
Source: Naharnet
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