Lebanon is advancing its largest amnesty law since the civil war, potentially freeing more than 3,000 inmates, including Islamists and drug traffickers; The proposal has sparked fierce opposition from victims’ families and renewed debate over the return of former SLA members from IsraelAP|Samira Bou Saab had hoped to see the execution of the man who was sentenced to death for killing her son. Instead, he eventually could be released under a sweeping draft amnesty law in Lebanon that is revealing the country’s complex history of loyalties and conflict.Lebanon’s largest amnesty since the end of its devastating 1975-90 civil war is expected to occur in the coming weeks, once parliament approves it and the president signs it.4 View gallery Lebanon’s largest amnesty since the end of its devastating 1975-90 civil war is expected to occur in the coming weeks (Photo: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)The law would replace death sentences, reduce life sentences and eventually lead to the release of convicted terrorists and drug dealers while excluding crimes such as rape, human trafficking, corruption, funding acts of terrorism and premeditated murder. Those convicted of killing Lebanese troops could see reduced prison terms.Even as Israel’s latest operation in Lebanon in pursuit of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist organisation has delayed parliamentary elections, lawmakers have said they are pressing ahead with the amnesty law because of overcrowding in jails.Over 3,000 of nearly 8,600 detainees would be freed, including those in jail without trial for at least 14 years.But some in Lebanon oppose the amnesty. Recently, families of fallen soldiers protested by placing dozens of empty military boots outside parliament in Beirut.Bou Saab’s son, George, an army first lieutenant, was one of 18 military members killed in clashes with followers of radical Sunni Muslim cleric Ahmed al-Assir in the southern city of Sidon in 2013.Bou Saab asked whether al-Assir, who has served 11 years under a death sentence, would have the right under the amnesty to see his children and family “while my son is buried under the sand and his children don’t know him.” If the law is approved, the death sentence would be gone and he would have 10 more years to serve.4 View gallery Over 3,000 of nearly 8,600 detainees would be freed, including those in jail without trial for at least 14 years (Photo: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)Al-Assir’s wife, meanwhile, blasted the amnesty, saying her husband is an innocent victim of a conspiracy orchestrated by the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah, which she said ignited battles between the cleric’s supporters and the Lebanese army.4 View gallery But some in Lebanon oppose the amnesty (Photo: AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)“He is being executed slowly,” Amal Shamseddine said of her husband’s sentence, adding, “Had there been justice in our country, they (detainees) would have been released and gone home long time ago.”Lebanon’s last major amnesty was in 1991, with the aim of facilitating reconciliation after the civil war left 150,000 people dead. The conflict drew in multiple militias, many of them sectarian, plus Palestinian factions. Syria’s military intervened, and an Israeli campaign in 1982 reached Beirut.After that amnesty, most militia leaders became part of Lebanon’s ruling class that later was blamed for decades of corruption and mismanagement leading to an economic meltdown in 2019.As the current amnesty law was drafted, the country’s deep sectarian divisions were clear in the legislature. Sunni lawmakers demanded the release of Islamists, Shiite ones sought the release of drug dealers mostly from Lebanon’s eastern, cannabis-planting Baalbek region.