Report: General Amnesty Law 'Suspended'

A “complicated” general amnesty law has reportedly been “put on the back burner” until after the May 6 legislative elections, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

“The draft law has been shelved at the time being because of some complications which need to be addressed. Some political parties prefer its suspension due to the pressing time factor and looming parliamentary elections,” said the daily.

“The file needs a legal mechanism and full political consensus to be addressed by the new elected parliament and government,” it added.

The government has been weighing potentials for approving said law which was expected to come ahead of the country's first parliamentary elections in nine years.

Families of Islamist prisoners have repeatedly rallied demanding the approval of the law.

Lebanon had one general amnesty after the end of the civil war in 1990.