Lebanon’s Justice Minister Salim Jreissati said on Monday there were no current projects pertaining to the amnesty law, adding that any process to implement general amnesty would be discussed after the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Speaking to reporters following meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri, he said: “We discussed a number of laws the government wishes the parliament to endorse before the state’s caretaker role begins.”
“As usual, I found in Berri a key guarantor of the major settlement that is based on the security and political stability in the country,” he added.
On the general amnesty law, the justice minister said: “The amnesty is completely out of political bickering ahead of the elections.”
The issue is not up for electoral debate, “it is a political decision taken by political consensus, and now there are no ongoing projects related to the pardon,” he remarked.
“But at the right time, the Justice Ministry will be ready to draft a general amnesty law. When the political consensus is available, it will present it to the Cabinet and then submit it to parliament for approval. We believe that this should happen after the parliamentary elections,” the minister added.
The polls are scheduled for May 6.
