October 14, 2026
The Lebanese judiciary brought down the curtain on the murder of citizen Haitham Al-Zein, which occurred more than seven years ago, as the Mount Lebanon Criminal Court, headed by Judge Zalfa Al-Hassan, issued a unanimous ruling convicting Malek Eid of premeditated murder, sentencing him to life imprisonment with hard labor, and obliging him to pay civil compensation in the amount of 150,000 US dollars or its equivalent in Lebanese pounds to the plaintiff.
The details of the case go back to February 1, 2019, when the murdered Haitham Al-Zein went on a hunting trip to the “Al-Dahr Farm” locality, accompanied by four of his friends. Upon their arrival, the comrades dispersed to practice their hobby, before around eleven o’clock they heard two gunshots, a few seconds apart. After searches, friends found Al-Zein lying on the ground with blood pouring from his mouth and nose. The forensic doctor’s report documented his arrival at the hospital as a dead body as a result of being hit by a bullet from a 12 mm hunting rifle (9-shackle type) in the back of his neck from the right side. It was fired from a distance of approximately one meter, and a number of “shackles” were found inside his head.
Security investigations led to identifying the owner of the land where the crime occurred, Malek Eid (born in 1955). Searching his house, the Information Division found a used hunting rifle, in addition to a yellow bullet, two used hunting cartridges, and various military ammunition.
During the investigations, Eid admitted to being in his olive grove on the date of the crime, noting that he had previously entered into repeated disputes with hunters because of the damage caused by gunfire to the walls of his grove. He explained that he went to his vineyard carrying a hunting rifle and two cartridges (the first “nine chains” intended for wild animals and the second for regular beads) with the aim of intimidating the hunters. He added that he heard a rattle and was surprised by a person climbing between a pile of dry grass at a distance of four meters, so he opened fire using the “nine-tipped” cartridge with the aim of intimidation and not killing, claiming that the injury occurred “by mistake.”
Eid also admitted that as a result of his confusion, he did not treat the injured person, but rather removed the empty cartridge and fired another shot at random to facilitate his escape. Then he deliberately hid the evidence and dismantled the gun in the garage, denying the existence of previous knowledge between him and the victim. During the interrogation and before the criminal court, the accused retracted his first story to claim that he opened fire because he believed there was a pig and that he did not know there were people, continuing to deny the charge of premeditated murder.
For its part, the court considered, in the merits of its ruling, that premeditated murder is considered one of the most serious crimes of assault against persons because it aims to take lives and has criminal intent. Accordingly, the court criminalized Malek Eid under Article 549/1 of the Penal Code, and imposed a life sentence of hard labor against him, declaring him deprived of his civil rights for the duration of the sentence, in addition to obliging him to pay financial compensation to the plaintiff.
