BEIRUT – Lebanon said today it has decided to recall its ambassador to France over rape allegations, reported German news agency dpa.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Rami Adwan would be heading to Beirut after it sent a team to the Lebanese embassy in Paris to investigate the case.
The French Foreign Ministry has been informed that Ziad Taan will head the Lebanese mission there as chargé d’affaires, the statement added.
French authorities have called for the lifting of diplomatic immunity for Adwan after an investigation into the alleged rape was opened in Paris.
Two former embassy employees have filed complaints against the envoy, according to a Lebanese judicial source.
The first complaint was filed in June 2022 by an ex-worker, claiming she was the victim of an alleged rape two years earlier, the source added.
“For now, the Lebanese Foreign Ministry will have to give the Lebanese judiciary the result of the investigation conducted by the committee sent to Paris. Then they will see the evidence. If found guilty, he will be tried in Lebanon,” the source added. – Bernama, June 9, 2023
