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Lebanon repeals ‘marry the rapist’ law

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Associated Press BEIRUT — Lebanon’s parliament on Wednesday abolished a law that allowed rapists to avoid prison by marrying their victims. The repeal of the law, which had been in place since the 1940s, follows years of campaigning by women’s rights advocates. Tunisia, Morocco, and Egypt have canceled similar ‘‘marry the rapist’’ clauses over the years, and Jordan’s parliament recently repealed a similar law. The clause remains on the books in Algeria, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, the Palestinian territories, and Syria, as well as several countries in Latin America and in the Philippines and Tajikistan, according to Human Rights Watch. Conservatives in the Middle East who support such laws argue that marriage salvages the honor of the woman and her family. The Lebanese law stated that rape is punishable by up to seven years in prison, or more if the victim is mentally or physically disabled. Article 522 added that if the rapist marries the victim, criminal prosecution is suspended. Human Rights Watch welcomed the move by Lebanon’s parliament but said more should be done to ensure women’s rights. ‘‘The repeal of article 522 is an important and overdue step to protect women’s rights in Lebanon,’’ said Bassam Khawaja, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. ‘‘Parliament should now follow this up by passing pending legislation to end child marriage and marital rape, both of which are still legal in Lebanon.’’

US Army gives Fighting Vehicles and armored field artillery ammunition supply vehicles to the Lebanese Army

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Ambassador Elizabeth Richard participated today in the delivery of eight M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles and armored field artillery ammunition supply vehicles to the Lebanese Armed Forces at Port Beirut. These are the very first of a total shipment of 32 Bradleys that will be delivered in the coming months. This contribution to the Lebanese Armed Forces represents an investment of over 100 million dollars. It will provide the Lebanese Armed Forces with new capabilities to protect Lebanon, to protect its borders, and to fight terrorists In the past 12 months, the United States has provided the following defense articles to the Lebanese Army:
- 40 M198 howitzers - 50 armored Humvees - an Armed Cessna aircraft with hellfire missiles - 55 mortar systems - 50 Mark-19 automatic grenade launchers - 1100 machine guns, including 800 50 caliber machine guns - 4,000 M4 rifles - Over half a million rounds of ammunition - 320 night vision devices and thermal sights - 360 secure communication radios.

Part of Ambassador Richard speech "America’s support for Lebanon is based on the shared interests of the American people and the Lebanese people. Our support is based on the principle that we share the same goals for stability and security in this country, and we share the view that the Lebanese Armed Forces need to maintain their rightful place as the sole provider of security and stability to the Lebanese people." Ambassador Richard at the delivery of Bradley Fighting Vehicles to the Lebanese Army - August 14, 2017. The full remarks are available at the following link: goo.gl/VZQoMJ

Three Lebanese among Burkina Faso victims

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The daily star.com.lb - BEIRUT/OUAGADOUGOU: Three Lebanese nationals, including a pregnant woman, were among 18 killed in a terrorist attack on a Turkish restaurant in Burkina Faso’s capital Ouagadougou, Lebanese authorities said Monday. A statement from the Lebanese Foreign Ministry identified the Lebanese victims as Ahmad al-Bali, Mohsen Fneish and his wife who was pregnant at the time but was not named in the statement. It added that they were killed in the crossfire between security forces and the terrorists who had attacked the restaurant. At least eight foreigners of multiple nationalities were among the deceased. Prime Minister Saad Hariri ordered the head of the Higher Relief Committee Gen. Mohammad Kheir to coordinate with his counterparts in Burkina Faso and offered them any resources they might require to help the affected Lebanese nationals. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which took place Sunday evening. However, Burkina Faso’s Communications Minister Remi Dandjinou said that it was “a terrorist attack.”

Amy Sawadogo, waitress at the popular restaurant, told AP about the horror of the attack. Sawadogo was still searching for her colleagues as of Monday morning. “I just want to go to the hospital and see who is still alive,” the distraught young woman, who was still dressed in her uniform said Monday. “I am calling them in vain, no response.” The Aziz Istanbul restaurant is often packed with expats who would go there to watch football. Authorities said that many of the victims are children dining with their families. The attack began around 9 p.m. Sunday when the restaurant was full with customers. Two young men wearing jeans and jackets drove up on motorcycles and began indiscriminately shooting at the people inside with Kalashnikovs, witnesses told AP.

“I heard a noise when they smashed a car with their motorbike and before I understood what happened they started shooting at the customers on the terrace,” Assane Guebre, who had been keeping an eye on customers’ cars parked outside, said. “They were close to me, and I still don’t know how they did not hit me first,” Guebre said. His hands were still bleeding from the cuts he had suffered when he threw himself to the ground to avoid the bullets.A Reuters witness saw customers running out of the Aziz Istanbul restaurant as police and paramilitary gendarmerie surrounded it, amid gunfire. The shots rang into the night before the country’s special forces ended attack hours after it began. Initially, authorities had said there were three or four assailants. However, government spokesman Remy Danguinou told reporters early Monday that two attackers had been killed by the authorities.

Hariri to Kuwait: Will cooperate over security

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Federica Marsi| The Daily Star - BEIRUT: Prime Minister Saad Hariri Sunday vowed to cooperate closely with Kuwait after relations were strained when a alleged Hezbollah-linked terror cell was discovered in 2015. The pledge was made during a meeting with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah during the premier’s official one-day visit to the Gulf state to address the issue of the so-called Abdali cell. “We clearly said that we condemn what happened regarding [the] Abdali cell and that Lebanon is prepared to cooperate, with all its agencies, to end the issue,” Hariri said after the meeting, according to a statement issued by his office. In the summer of 2015, Kuwaiti security services raided farmhouses in the town of Al-Abdali, near the Iraqi border, uncovering the largest-ever weapons cache discovered in the country. Kuwait charged 25 nationals – all of them Shiites – and one Iranian with spying for Iran and for Hezbollah. In January 2016, a Kuwaiti court found 23 of the 26 guilty of various crimes. Two were sentenced to death, including the Iranian, in absentia. The others were fined or received jail terms between five years and life, while three were acquitted.

In January, Kuwait’s highest court overturned the death sentence imposed by a lower tribunal against one of the men, reducing it to life, it also reduced the life sentence for another man to 15 years in prison and sentenced several others previously judged “not guilty” to 10 years. Twelve of the Kuwaiti nationals convicted in absentia were arrested Saturday on charges of spying for Iran and Hezbollah. Two other Kuwaitis and one Iranian national remain at large. In July, Kuwait expelled 15 diplomats for alleged links to the cell. “There is a great Kuwaiti resentment toward [this matter] and they are right about it, and we in Lebanon will cooperate on the issue,” Hariri said.

Following a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabagh, Hariri said he was hopeful this resentment would not translate into measures against Lebanon, but said the issue had to be addressed “clearly and boldly” in order to prevent further strains between the two countries. President Michel Aoun also pledged to follow up on the issue. “The Kuwaiti people, state and emir always treated Lebanon and the Lebanese as they treat the Kuwaitis. I hope that the relations will improve,” Hariri said. The diplomatic strain recently led to speculation that Gulf Cooperation Council countries could implement a blockade against Lebanon, similar to that against Qatar, with dire repercussions for economic stability.

Lebanon's Hezbollah says U.S. can't hurt it, dismisses sanctions

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Hezbollah fighters are seen in Jroud Arsal

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The leader of Lebanon's Hezbollah on Sunday dismissed the prospect of tougher U.S. sanctions against his group, which is backed by Iran, and said the U.S. administration had no way to harm it. "The American administration, with all available and possible means, will not be able to damage the strength of the resistance," Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address to mark the anniversary of the end of Hezbollah's 2006 war with Israel. Nasrallah said Lebanon was being subjected to intimidation and threats over Hezbollah - which is part of the Beirut government but classified as a terrorist group by Washington - and alleged that Lebanese officials had been told that Israel could launch a war. European and American officials had warned them "during diplomatic meetings and international visits ... if you don't do this, Israel will launch a war on Lebanon, and if Hezbollah doesn't do this, Israel will launch a war on Lebanon", Nasrallah said. He did not spell out what had been asked of Lebanon or Hezbollah. Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, a well armed Shi'ite movement, have risen this year. Nasrallah has played down the prospect of a war while simultaneously warning Israel against a conflict. Trump last month called Hezbollah a "menace" to the Lebanese people and to the entire region during a news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri. U.S. lawmakers last month introduced legislation seeking to increase sanctions on Hezbollah by further restricting its ability to raise money and recruit and by increasing pressure on banks that do business with it, though it was not clear when or if it would come to a vote. Officials in Lebanon have raised concerns that any widening of the U.S. sanctions could damage their banking industry. Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Kevin Liffey

Kuwait arrests 12 in Iran spy case

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Saudi Gazette - KUWAIT CITY — Authorities on Saturday arrested 12 convicted members of a "terrorist cell" with ties to Iran and Lebanon's Shiite movement Hezbollah after a weeks-long manhunt. The Interior Ministry said the 12 had been captured in different areas across Kuwait. They had been on the run since their sentencing last month, while two other convicted Kuwaitis remained at large. "The Interior Ministry announces that security services have arrested in different regions 12 people sentenced in the so-called Al-Abdali cell," a statement from the ministry and carried by the state news agency KUNA said. Authorities are still searching for two others convicted in the same case and still on the run, the statement added. The Supreme Court in June overturned an acquittal by an appeals court and convicted 21 of forming a "terrorist cell" with ties to Iran and Hezbollah.

The cell had planned to launch attacks across the Gulf state, according to the court verdict. Kuwait has protested to Lebanon over the alleged training of the so-called "Abdali Cell" by Hezbollah, which has ministers in the Beirut government. Last month, authorities expelled 15 Iranian diplomats and shut down the military, cultural and trade missions of the Iranian embassy over Tehran's backing of the "terrorist cell". Iran said the allegation is baseless. On Friday, Lebanese Foreign

Minister Jebran Bassil telephoned his Kuwaiti counterpart Sabah Al-Khaled to follow up on the Al-Abdali terrorist cell, the members of which had received training from Hezbollah. Bassil and his counterpart discussed the official complaint that Kuwait had filed against the party’s involvement in the cell, reported Lebanon’s National News Agency. NNA said that Bassil had in recent weeks carried out a number of contacts with Kuwaiti officials in order to tackle the development and its repercussions. Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had denied that his group had any cells operating in Kuwait. “Hezbollah did not form cells in Kuwait and it does not have any cells or members there,” he said during his recent televised appearance. He stressed Lebanon’s “great keenness on having the best ties” with the Gulf country. — Agencies

Hezbollah steers Lebanon closer to Syria, straining efforts to stay neutral

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Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri holds a cabinet meeting at the governmental palace in Beirut, Lebanon August 9, 2017. Picture taken August 9, 2017. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

By Lisa Barrington BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah and its allies are pressing the Lebanese state to normalize relations with President Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria, testing Lebanon's policy of "dissociation" from the Syrian conflict and igniting a political row. Calls for closer ties with the Syrian government, including on refugee returns and military operations on the Lebanon-Syria border, come as Assad regains control of more territory from insurgents and seeks to recover his international standing. The Lebanese policy of "dissociation", agreed in 2012, has aimed to keep the deeply divided state out of regional conflicts such as Syria even as Iran-backed Hezbollah became heavily involved there, sending fighters to help Assad, who is also allied to Iran. The policy has helped rival groups to coexist in governments bringing together Hezbollah, classified as a terrorist group by the United States, with politicians allied to Iran's foe Saudi Arabia, underpinning a degree of political entente amid the regional turmoil.

While Lebanon never severed diplomatic or trade ties with Syria, the government has avoided dealing with the Syrian government in an official capacity and the collapse of the policy would be a boost a political boost to Assad. It would also underline Iran's ascendancy in Lebanon, where the role of Saudi Arabia has diminished in recent years when it has focused on confronting Tehran in the Gulf instead. Assad's powerful Lebanese Shi'ite allies want the government to cooperate with Syria on issues such as the fight against jihadists at their shared border and securing the return of the 1.5 million Syrians currently taking refuge in Lebanon. "Everybody recognizes (the dissociation policy) as a farce to some extent, but at least it contained the conflict and prevented Lebanon from being dragged even further into what is going on in Syria," said Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Centre in Beirut. "(A normalization of relations) would be viewed as a victory, if using sectarian terms, of Shi'ites versus the Sunnis and will just inflame tensions even more."