October 22, 2026
The file of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir has entered a new phase of legal and judicial controversy, in light of the emergence of a legal interpretation that may fundamentally change the length of the sentence that may be applied against him, opening the door to the possibility of his sentence ending in May 2028 instead of 2036, awaiting the final word from the Military Court of Cassation.
This development comes one day after lawyer Dr. Peter Germanos joined the prisoner’s defense team, coinciding with a legal movement surrounding the effects of the general amnesty law and the abolition of the death penalty, and the different interpretations produced by the new legislation regarding non-conclusive judicial rulings.
The roots of the case go back to the Abra events in Sidon in 2013, which witnessed bloody confrontations between the Lebanese army and gunmen linked to Assir, which resulted in the death of two soldiers. Although he was sentenced to death in 2017, the ruling is still the subject of an appeal before the Military Court of Cassation and has not yet become final.
The legal complex revolves around Article Three of the General Amnesty Law, which was approved by the House of Representatives on September 4, 2026, which stipulates replacing the death penalty with 28 years in prison, and reducing life imprisonment with hard labor to 17 years, provided that the legal conditions are met. However, the Constitutional Council’s interpretation of this article created a distinction between those who were permanently sentenced before the penalty was abolished, and those whose sentences have not become final.
Here the peculiarity of the prisoner’s situation emerges. Considering that his death sentence is not final and is under review, he may not be subject to the 28-year sentence. Rather, he may benefit from a life sentence of hard labor reduced to 17 years, if a final ruling of this description is issued against him.
In this context, the Attorney General at the Cassation Public Prosecution, Judge Muhammad Saab, prepared a legal study at the request of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, which concluded that the 28-year sentence must be applied to those with final judgments, while those whose judgments have not been concluded can benefit from the 17-year sentence once a final judgment is issued.
As for the prisoner, who has been detained since August 15, 2015, calculating the 17-year sentence according to the prison year and the duration of his detention may end his sentence in May 2028, while adopting the 28-year sentence will postpone the date to 2036. The prisoner’s defense is not limited to that, but one of his agents insists on applying the most appropriate punishment, and raises the possibility of him being included in a general amnesty based on the distinction between the crime of murder and incitement to it, which is Proposals remain subject to judicial discretion.
While Judge Saab’s study does not have independent binding force, this judicial struggle coincides with a political and parliamentary debate over the varying application of penalties, taking into account the sensitivity of the Abra case and its repercussions on army soldiers and their families, as well as public justice.
Attention is turning towards the session of the Military Court of Cassation scheduled to be held next November 26 to complete consideration of the appeal, without certainty that a final ruling will be issued, so that the decision remains suspended pending judicial decisions that will determine the course of one of the most sensitive cases in Lebanon.
