BEIRUT: Parliament’s Administrative and Justice Committee
decided Monday to revise a number of amnesty draft laws put forward by MPs, and
recommended that the government cancel an administrative measure that has “no
legal basis.”
One of the amnesty drafts was proposed by Metn MP Sami Gemayel,
and MPs will now work to specify who is eligible for amnesty, among those who
fled to Israel in the wake of its withdrawal from south Lebanon in May 2000.
“It turned out that it is necessary to distinguish between those
who were forced to collaborate with the occupation ... due to security and
other reasons, and those who deliberately committed acts punishable by Lebanese
law,” said Western Bekaa MP Robert Ghanem, the head of the committee, after
chairing its session at Parliament.
“[The representative of the Justice Ministry] ... Hatem Madi was
tasked with revising this draft law in coordination with [Metn MP] Sami Gemayel
who forwarded it, taking into consideration this distinction,” Ghanem added.
In 2000, 6,500 South Lebanon Army militia members who fought
alongside Israel during its occupation of south Lebanon left with their
families to Israel and an estimated 2,500 remain there. Parliament recently
passed a “law of return” to handle the cases of those who fled in 2000, but the
implementing decrees have yet to be issued.
Ghanem said a subcommittee was formed to examine and merge a
number of amnesty draft laws forwarded by MPs.
Among the draft laws to be examined is one calling for
re-trying, without detaining, anyone who was convicted in absentia before Dec.
31, 2005.
“This draft law is very important since many Lebanese ... have
been convicted in absentia ... and are afraid to return to Lebanon and be
arrested,” Ghanem added.
The subcommittee is headed by Baalbek-Hermel MP Nawwar Sahli,
the rapporteur of the Administration and Justice Committee, with MPs Samir Jisr,
Elie Kayrouz, Ghassan Moukheiber, Michel Helou, along with Madi, as members.
“The subcommittee was tasked with re-drafting [the legislative
proposals into] one amnesty draft law, which deals with a number of crimes,”
said Ghanem.
The committee also urged the government to cancel “telegram
303,” based on which the Judicial Police arrests wanted people.
Ghanem said that the telegram has no “legal basis” and is
different from a search and arrest warrant.
The committee
has decided to issue a recommendation to the Cabinet to respect the fact that a
search and arrest warrant expires one month from its date of issuance.
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