Former Iraqi MP found dead in Lebanon

Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani. Photo: Al-Alwani’s media office Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Lebanese and Iraqi authorities have launched an investigation after the body of former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani was discovered in an apartment in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. While initial reports from Lebanese media emerged on Tuesday, judicial sources indicate the body was found on Monday evening in the Tariq al-Jadideh neighborhood. Authorities found the body after al-Alwani’s family reported losing contact with him four days earlier. Although authorities have not yet issued a complete forensic report, media outlets mentioned that al-Alwani was strangled with a curtain cord after being lured to the residence. Three suspects who allegedly leased the property were identified by investigators: two Syrian nationals and one Lebanese citizen. The two Syrian suspects are said to have left the country, while security personnel apprehended the Lebanese suspect for interrogation. According to surveillance footage, al-Alwani and two guys entered the premises freely. The corpse was sent to Zahle Government Hospital once it was discovered. Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj, Lebanon’s chief prosecutor, requested DNA testing in addition to a family examination to confirm the identity because the remains had started to decay. Mohammed al-Husseini, Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon, affirmed that the embassy is working with Lebanese security services in anticipation of the official results. Between 2005 and 2014, al-Alwani chaired the parliament’s economic committee and represented the western Anbar province of Iraq. A well-known supporter of the Sunni demonstrations against the administration of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in 2012 and 2013, al-Alwani was arrested in a raid on his home in December 2013. The former Iraqi lawmaker was released under a nationwide amnesty in April 2025 after spending more than 11 years on terrorism-related accusations.