📰 2 sources 12 articles · 19 Oct 2026, 13:40 → 24 days ago

Sunni MPs and the Constitutional Council's decision on the general amnesty: meetings with the prosecutor general and Salam, and a dispute over powers

The file of Lebanon's general amnesty law saw parliamentary, judicial and political movement after a Constitutional Council decision that raised debate over powers and the limits of implementation. A delegation of Sunni MPs met Public Prosecutor General Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj and then Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, while MP Bilal Abdullah's objection to MP Paula Yacoubian's participation in the Sunni MPs' meeting also surfaced.

📍 Where things stand: Debate over the Constitutional Council's decision on the general amnesty law continues, with parliamentary positions criticizing it and talk of a positive atmosphere in the Islamist detainees file following the MPs' meeting with the public prosecutor general.

⏱️ Timeline

19 Oct 2026, 13:40 MP Paula Yacoubian said rights should not be sorted along sectarian lines, in the context of a study prepared by Judge Mohammad Saab that revealed a flaw. She said she tried to take part in a meeting of Sunni MPs to discuss the Constitutional Council's decision on the general amnesty law and Judge Mohammad Saab's study, but MP Bilal Abdullah objected to her attendance on the grounds that it could cause embarrassment, while MP Ashraf Rifi welcomed her participation. Yacoubian considered the matter a rights and legislative issue that should not be confined to a sectarian framework, and said that Sunnis are a community and that they are MPs of the community.
19 Oct 2026, 15:11 Public Prosecutor General Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj met at the Palace of Justice with a delegation of Sunni MPs to discuss the Constitutional Council's decision on the general amnesty law, and the delegation was briefed on how the law would be applied in light of the Constitutional Council's decision.
19 Oct 2026, 17:41 After the meeting, MP Waddah Sadek wrote on X that the amnesty law would be applied as its main clauses were approved, and that having a public prosecutor general with courage, independence and judicial knowledge is the solution to many of the country's crises.
19 Oct 2026, 19:18 The government presidency announced that a delegation of Sunni MPs discussed with Prime Minister Nawaf Salam at the Grand Serail the Constitutional Council's decision on the general amnesty law, and affirmed the continued application of the spirit of the law. The delegation included 13 MPs, among them Bilal Abdullah and Ashraf Rifi; Abdullah said the Constitutional Council had exceeded its legislative powers and called for the election of a new Constitutional Council.
19 Oct 2026, 20:52 Reports indicated signs of a breakthrough in the Islamist detainees file, with a positive atmosphere after the meeting that brought MPs together with the public prosecutor general.
20 Oct 2026, 11:35 MP Ihab Matar told Lebanon Debate that the Constitutional Council's decision constitutes an infringement on Parliament's powers and that the Sunni MPs' meeting was meant to urge Parliament to assert its independence, amid talk that the prime minister's position calmed the atmosphere and questions over whether the Constitutional Council's decision is non-binding.
20 Oct 2026, 14:44 The Constitutional Council is coming under attack from MPs who accuse it of exceeding its powers and taking over their role.