Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

The assassination of Lebanese activist Lokman Slim, one year on

The assassination of Lebanese activist Lokman Slim, one year on

Lebanese activist and Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim was found dead in his car last year, and his family is still awaiting accountability.

A year after the assassination of the activist and Hezbollah critic Lokman Slim, his family is still waiting for accountability.

“The investigation is ongoing, but unfortunately one year after, nobody has been accused, and nobody has been arrested,” his widow, German filmmaker Monika Borgmann, told Al Jazeera.

“The investigation is now taking place in Beirut, and I have attended two hearings with a judge.”

Slim went missing one year ago after visiting a friend in the southern Lebanese town of Niha. He was found dead the following morning in a black Toyota rental car on a quiet road between two villages in the region.

He had been shot five times in the head, and once in the back. Borgmann confirmed several days later that there were no signs of torture following an autopsy.

Human Rights Watch said in a new report on Thursday that local investigations into the assassinations of Lokman Slim and three other “politically sensitive murder investigations” have failed, and questioned the impartiality of Lebanese law enforcement.

Aya Majzoub, Human Rights Watch Lebanon researcher, told Al Jazeera that the investigation into Slim’s assassination was “riddled with procedural violations”.

“Unfortunately, we have come to expect little progress on politically sensitive murder investigations,” Majzoub says.

“For decades, the killers of journalists, politicians, and activists have gone unpunished, perpetuating the culture of impunity, and allowing these heinous crimes to continue.”

Activists hold up pieces of paper with the words in Arabic ‘zero fear’ during the memorial service to pay tribute to Lokman Slim, a Shia publisher and activist who was found dead in his car, in Beirut, Lebanon


Lokman Slim is remembered as a political analyst, activist, and intellectual. Slim co-founded UMAM Documentation and Research in 2005, a non-profit that most notably included an extensive historical archive and a cultural and exhibition space called the Hangar, and civic organisation Hayya Binna (Let’s Go).

Slim’s family has launched a photography exhibition at the Hangar to honour Slim’s legacy.

“The whole Hangar is now dedicated to Lokman,” Borgmann told Al Jazeera.

Slim was also one of the most outspoken Shia critics against Iran-backed Hezbollah. In one of his last media appearances, he said Hezbollah and the Syrian government were linked to the explosive material that caused the Beirut Port explosion in August 2020.

Borgmann said Hezbollah had threatened Slim several times before the assassination. In December 2019, Hezbollah supporters plastered posters on the walls outside his home in the southern suburbs of Beirut with pro-Hezbollah slogans and messages accusing him of being a traitor.

Lebanon’s troubled history has been marked by political assassinations, a 15-year civil war, and the Beirut Port explosion that flattened several neighbourhoods in the capital with virtually no accountability for the perpetrators.

Mohanad Hage Ali, research fellow at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said that Lebanese political leaders, including an empowered Hezbollah, will try to “push it [the assassination] under the rug until everyone forgets”.

“They will try to deal with the most heinous financial and economic crime since the foundation of Lebanon, in the same manner,” Hage Ali tells Al Jazeera. “No accountability behind a great smokescreen of conflicting and contradictory political and sectarian blame.”

Borgmann says that much of her work alongside Slim was dedicated to ending impunity, and that she would be willing to seek justice internationally if she has to. But she’s hoping that it could be achieved in Lebanon.

“The history of Lebanon does not give a lot of optimism, there have been more than 200 political assassinations and there has been almost no accountability – very few only,” she says. “But I still believe that history can change.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Russia Formally Recognizes Taliban Government in Afghanistan
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Mediators Edge Closer to Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Agreement
Germany Seeks Taliban Deal to Deport Afghan Migrants
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×