ALBAWABA - French authorities officially put in a request for Lebanese authorities to lift diplomatic immunity off of Lebanon's ambassador to France amid rape and violence allegations.
The Lebanese foreign ministry has decided to "urgently send an investigation committee headed by the ministry's secretary-general... to the embassy in Paris to question the concerned ambassador and hear statements from embassy staff", it said in a statement, France24 reported.
Adwan has diplomatic immunity from prosecution because of his position, but the French government has pushed the Lebanese authorities to lift this immunity to enable them to prosecute him and have him stand trial.
Two reports were filed by former embassy employees, one was filed in June 2022 where the woman accuses Lebanon's ambassador of raping her in his private residence in May 2020. She also claimed that, during her time working as an editor in his office, Adwan struck her during a heated argument.
The second lady filed a claim in February, alleging that he physically assaulted her several times after she refused to give him sexual favors. Adwan is also accused of attempting to hit the woman with his car in the wake of the Normandy World Peace Forum last year.
The Lebanese Foreign Ministry announced in a statement that they will "urgently" send an investigation team to the embassy in Paris to question the ambassador and gather testimonies from embassy workers.
