Despite EU protest, Lebanon executes its first three convicts since 1998

The three belonged to the nation’s main sects: Maronites, Shiites and Sunnis

BEIRUT - Elias Shartouni

February 2004

Lebanon executed three men convicted of committing crimes. The execution was the first ever since President Lahoud came to power in 1998.

Despite protests from the European Union and NGOs, the Lebanese authorities insisted to carry on with its decision of taking the lives of three men namely Ahmed Mansour, Remi Zaatar and Badih Hamadeh. The first was convicted of killing eight of his colleagues at the Mutual Fund of Private School Teachers, Zaatar was found guilty in killing two of his colleagues at the Civil Defense brigade while Badih Hamadeh, convicted of earlier offenses, killed three personnel of the Army Intelligence who invaded his mother-in-law’s house to arrest him.

“Don’t kill in my name,” read one of the banners that demonstrators in front of the Roumieh prison, were the three convicts were being held.

Demonstrators, who included officials such as Metn MP Ghassan Mokheiber, came down heavily on what they described as the “oldest, sadist and Barbaric tradition in the human history,” arguing that taking out lives would not bring the lives of the victims.

But according to families of the victims, such punishments were highly in need to stop other potential criminals from committing such acts.

“It was not an accident, Ahmed Mansour came to the office that morning and was predetermined to commit his massacre and that is why I support his execution,” George Saadeh, father-in-law of one of Mansour’s victims told Alternative in an interview.

“I know that his killing would not bring back the dead, but he should be executed,” he said.

Saadeh added that he was ready to fund the education of Mansour’s kids after his execution. “There is nothing personal, but in some cases, like in Mansour’s action, I support execution 100 percent. We must have laws and we must start somewhere.”

Meanwhile, families of the executed where appealing for mercy, saying that the convicts committed their crimes at times of utmost anger, and that they were not aware of what they were doing.

Unlike previous times, executions in Lebanon were not open for the public or for the media and was done behind Roumieh’s closed doors.