Former Iraqi Lawmaker and Iran Critic Found Dead in Beirut Apartment
Former Iraqi lawmaker and Iran critic Ahmed al-Alwani was found murdered in a Beirut apartment. Lebanese authorities have launched an investigation into the suspected homicide.
Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani, a vocal critic of Iran and pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, was found dead in an apartment in Beirut just days after arriving in Lebanon, security and judicial sources confirmed on Tuesday. According to the sources, al-Alwani arrived in Beirut on a flight from Erbil in northern Iraq five days prior. Upon arrival, he initially checked into a hotel in the commercial district of Hamra before moving to an apartment in the Tariq al-Jadida neighborhood, which had been rented for two days for two hundred dollars by two Syrian nationals and a Lebanese citizen.
Lebanese broadcaster MTV reported that al-Alwani was lured to the apartment. When a real estate agent attempted to contact him after the rental period expired, al-Alwani failed to respond. Police forces entered the apartment on Monday evening and discovered his body, noting that he had suffered a blow to the head before being suffocated. High-ranking Lebanese officials stated that police intelligence is currently interrogating the taxi driver who picked al-Alwani up from the airport, while a manhunt is underway for the individuals who rented the apartment.
Al-Alwani, a prominent Sunni Muslim figure, was arrested in Iraq in December 2013 on charges of terrorism and incitement against the Shiite-led government. His arrest in Ramadi involved a deadly shootout that left his brother, five guards, and two soldiers dead. He was subsequently sentenced to twelve years in prison for the killing of an Iraqi soldier and was released in April of last year.
The announcement of his death followed statements from his family to Al-Hadath television that they had lost contact with him and that he was missing. According to the Saudi network Al-Arabiya, al-Alwani arrived in Beirut on November 5 and managed to hold a video call with his family shortly after landing. Hotel records indicated he stayed one night before vanishing. It remains unclear why he traveled to Lebanon, and his family reported that his three mobile phones were all powered off simultaneously after his disappearance. Al-Arabiya noted that al-Alwani was widely known for opposing Iranian influence and the activities of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. The Iraqi ambassador to Beirut, Mohammed Reza al-Husseini, told the Iraqi News Agency that high-level contacts are ongoing with Lebanese security agencies to clarify the circumstances surrounding the death of the former parliamentarian.
