Lebanon’s ambassador in France accused of rape, violence

Lebanon’s ambassador to France, Rami Adwan, has been investigated for rape and intentional violence following complaints by two former embassy employees, informed sources said Friday confirming a Mediapart report.

A first woman, aged 31, filed her complaint in June 2022 for a rape she says was committed in May 2020 in the ambassador’s private apartment.

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According to her deposition seen by AFP she made clear her lack of interest in having sex and that she screamed and burst into tears.

The woman, who was working as an editor, had already reported to police in 2020 that Adwan, in his post since 2017, had struck her during an argument in his office.

She did not, however, file a complaint as she did not wish to “break the life of this man,” married and a father.

According to the complaint, she had a “loving relationship” with the ambassador who carried out “psychological and physical violence with daily humiliations.”

The second woman, aged 28, had for her part embarked on a relationship with the ambassador shortly after she arrived as an intern in 2018.

She made a complaint last February following an alleged series of physical attacks she says resulted after she turned down sexual relations.

The second woman claims Adwan tried to hit her with his car after an argument on the sidelines of last year’s Normandy World Peace Forum.

She further accused the ambassador of trying to strangle her at her home last December by pressing her face to her bed.

“My client contests all accusations of aggression in any shape or form: verbal, moral, sexual,” Adwan’s lawyer Karim Beylouni told AFP.

“Between 2018 and 2022 he had with these two women romantic relationships punctuated by arguments and breakups,” Beylouni said.

An informed source said the Paris judicial police had closed the case.

Asked by AFP to comment, the Paris prosecutor’s office said it was not immediately in a position to do so.

In addition, Adwan enjoys diplomatic immunity.

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