Rami Adwan, Lebanon’s ambassador to France, is currently being investigated for rape & sexual assault following complaints by two former embassy employees. One of the employees, named Ava, claimed that she was raped in May 2020 in a private apartment belonging to Ambassador Adwan and that she “provided the police with WhatsApp messages on that evening and the following day, explicitly accusing him (Adwan) of rape”, according to French investigative website Mediapart.

French authorities have apparently requested lifting Adwan’s diplomatic immunity but the Lebanese Foreign Ministry has denied receiving any official French requests yet has confirmed that they’re treating the matter seriously and will send a committee to investigate the matter first.

Lebanon’s Minister of Foreign Affairs can lift Adwan’s immunity without referring to the Cabinet, but the Ministry of Justice has to review the accusations first. Needless to say, they’d probably repatriate the ambassador and protect him rather than lift his immunity.

Adwan was appointed ambassador to France in 2017.