Lebanese investigators are probing the death of former Iraqi legislator Ahmed al-Alwani, whose remains were located in a Beirut apartment on Tuesday evening. Al-Monitor reported that the 57-year-old politician was found in the bathroom of a residence in the Tariq El Jdideh district, south of the city center. Initial indications of his disappearance appeared around 8:30 p.m. local time, before authorities confirmed his death. Judge Ahmed Rami Al-Hajj is leading the judicial inquiry, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency.
Mohammed Redha al-Husseini, the Iraqi envoy in Lebanon, stated to the state-run news service that Baghdad is waiting for findings from the Lebanese judiciary. Footage circulating on social media purportedly captured the scene of the discovery, though the precise cause of death remains under review. Alwani’s arrival in Lebanon was not immediately clear, according to Al-Monitor.
Born in Ramadi, Alwani studied geology in Baghdad before entering public life, as noted by Al-Arabiya. He rose to prominence during the 2013 unrest in Anbar province, where Sunni communities protested their political marginalization under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The Associated Press reported that a shootout during his late-2013 detention killed his brother, five guards, and two soldiers. Alwani was later convicted of terrorism and sentenced to death, though the Inter-Parliamentary Union noted he was acquitted in April of the previous year after years of advocacy for his release.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union had alleged that Alwani faced torture during his custody, a claim that gained attention as the organization lobbied for his freedom. His death follows a period of political tension in Iraq, where the 2014 expansion of Islamic State forces was often linked to the grievances of the prior year’s protests. As the Lebanese court gathers evidence, Iraqi and Lebanese officials are coordinating to determine the timeline of Alwani’s stay in Beirut and the specific conditions leading to his death.