Lebanon’s parliament postponed debate on a controversial general amnesty bill after lawmakers raised concerns that its final wording could extend relief to people convicted of serious crimes, including child rape, according to Kataeb Party leader MP Samy Gemayel.

Speaking after the legislative session, Gemayel said his party supports the principle of correcting injustices suffered by people who were wrongfully detained or prosecuted, but opposes broadening the measure to cover offenders who committed major crimes.

“The principle is simple: We want to correct genuine injustices, but we cannot turn that into a blanket amnesty for people who committed serious crimes,” Gemayel said.

He said the Kataeb Party had backed calls to help Lebanese who were imprisoned after being accused, without sufficient evidence, of sympathizing with the Syrian uprising. Some of them, he said, have spent long periods in detention.

Gemayel said lawmakers had initially been assured that the amnesty would exclude murderers and others convicted of serious offenses. But during parliamentary discussions, he said, the scope of the measure was expanded.

“What started as one thing ended up becoming something completely different,” he said.

Under the bill’s latest version, Gemayel said, the amnesty would cover a range of offenses, including drug trafficking, drug dealing and drug use except in repeat-offense cases; drug cultivation; theft; fraud and breach of trust; forgery and counterfeiting; kidnapping; involuntary manslaughter; arson; possession of unlicensed weapons and ammunition; assault; defamation, slander and insult; and fraud in commercial transactions.

The measure would not apply to repeat offenders, Gemayel said, while some crimes excluded from the amnesty could still qualify for sentence reductions.

Those exclusions include intentional and premeditated murder, rape, incest, human trafficking, torture, enforced disappearance, terrorism, crimes referred to the Judicial Council, embezzlement, bribery, money laundering, treason, espionage and serious military offenses.

They would also include continued violations involving public property, as well as major or repeat drug and theft offenses.

Gemayel expressed particular concern that the bill, in its current form, could benefit people convicted of child rape.

“That is where we have a problem,” he said. “We want to right the wrongs suffered by people who have been unjustly treated, but we do not want to open the door to people who have no legitimate claim to amnesty.”

He proposed restricting the measure to clearly identified individuals, with specific names and offenses, or introducing a special amnesty based on assessments from security and judicial authorities. Such an approach, he said, would ensure that only those who meet clearly defined criteria benefit.

Gemayel also warned against allowing the amnesty debate to become sectarian. He said national unity required avoiding rhetoric that could pit one Lebanese community against another, particularly the Lebanese Army.

“We cannot portray an entire community as being against the army,” he said. “That is unacceptable. We also cannot turn this discussion into one that divides Lebanese against one another.”

Gemayel said he was troubled by the tone of Tuesday’s parliamentary debate, arguing that some politicians were attempting to shift the discussion from the issue of injustice to sectarian divisions.

“We are upset about what happened today,” he said. “Some people are trying to divide a united front and turn a national issue into a sectarian one. That is not what this is about.”

He said the issue involved specific cases of injustice rather than sectarian discrimination. Sovereignist political forces, he noted, had suffered persecution during Syria’s military and political dominance of Lebanon, but described that persecution as political rather than sectarian. The same, he said, applied to Lebanese who supported the Syrian uprising.

The amnesty debate was postponed until Wednesday, with Gemayel urging lawmakers to return the discussion to its original purpose.

“The goal is to correct the wrongs suffered by those who have been wronged, not to extend amnesty to people who do not deserve it," he stated.