“Lebanon Debate”
Approval of the amnesty law was an essential milestone in the file of detained Islamists, but it did not end the discussion about the fate of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Assir, after the formula that was approved in the House of Representatives prevented him from benefiting immediately in the way that his supporters were demanding. Among the balances that governed the vote and the judicial and political options available in the next stage, Representative Nabil Badr reveals a new path that will be worked on to reduce the prisoner’s sentence, leading to the possibility of his release within a shorter period.
In this context, Representative Nabil Badr confirmed, in an interview with “Lebanon Debate,” that what was achieved in the House of Representatives constitutes an important step, considering that the formula that was approved “opened the path for the release of the largest number of Islamist detainees,” and also allowed the punishment that could be applied to the prisoner to be reduced to a ceiling of “17 years in prison.”
Badr explained that work on the prisoner’s file will not stop when the law is passed, saying: “Now we have to work harder before the military court to reduce the prisoner sheikh’s sentence from life to a lesser sentence, so that he can also benefit from reducing the prison years.”
He pointed out that the next stage carries a new challenge, after the House of Representatives accomplished what was possible within the existing balances within it, explaining that the forces supporting the law were forced to deal with the parliamentary reality in a way that ensures its approval and does not completely fall.
Badr said: “This is what we were able to do in the House of Representatives, given that there are centers of power that cannot be bypassed. Therefore, we went by voting for the concluded provisions so that the law would pass, and we did not want it to fall completely.”
He pointed out that “the first step was to approve the current formula,” and work would then move to the military court to try to reduce the sentence issued to the prisoner, allowing him to benefit more from the provisions of the law.
He added: “Then we go to the military court and do our work to try to reduce his sentence as well, and it may come to the point that he gets out in less than a year and a half.”
In response to considering what happened as a sacrifice of the prisoner’s file in order to pass the amnesty law, Badr categorically denied this, saying: “There is no sacrifice of the prisoner sheikh. The prisoner sheikh has his loved ones, and we know him and respect him, but this was the best possible formula today in light of the balances in the council.”
Badr stressed that “the options for dealing with the prisoner’s file are not limited to the legislative path,” noting that there are other paths that can be worked on, including the judicial path before the military court, in addition to the possibility of resorting to a special pardon.
He said: “The Prime Minister can work on a special pardon for him, and he can ask the President of the Republic to sign it, and we can also do our work before the military court.”
He explained that “the prisoner’s judicial file still provides room for action,” in light of the presence of sentences under cassation, adding: “He is distinguishing his ruling, and therefore we will see if we can reduce the sentence further.”
