Arab News | Iraqi envoy says body found in Lebanon believed to be former lawmaker

BEIRUT: Initial findings indicate that a body found in Lebanon belongs to former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed Al-Alwani, Iraq’s ambassador to Beirut said Wednesday.

Mohammed Reda Al-Husseini told the Iraqi News Agency that an examination at Zahle Government Hospital, attended by a relative of Al-Alwani, and information received overnight pointed to the former lawmaker’s identity.

However, Lebanon’s chief prosecutor ordered DNA testing to confirm the identity because the body was decomposed and most of its features were no longer recognizable, Al-Husseini said.

He added that the tests would take some time, while the Iraqi Embassy was coordinating with Lebanese authorities to speed up procedures to receive the body and transfer it to Baghdad.

The embassy is closely following the Lebanese investigation into Al-Alwani’s killing, Al-Husseini said, adding that suspicions remained over some people who accompanied him from a hotel to the apartment where he was found dead.

He expressed confidence that Lebanese judicial and security authorities would establish the circumstances of the killing and identify those responsible.

Meanwhile, Lebanese prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam condemned “the crime of killing Al-Alwani in Beirut,” praising “the efforts of the judicial and security services to reveal the circumstances of the crime.”

He stressed that “Beirut cannot remain an arena for crime and security escape,” stressing that “protecting the security of the capital and the safety of all those on Lebanese territory is an issue that cannot be lenient.”