Iraqi ex-lawmaker found strangled to death in Lebanese capital of Beirut

Former Iraqi lawmaker Ahmed al-Alwani was found strangled to death in a Beirut apartment, sources said on Tuesday, adding one of three suspects had been arrested.

“The security services found the body of the former lawmaker on Monday night, and confirmed his identity on Tuesday,” a judicial official said.

His family had previously reported him missing to Lebanese authorities.

Alwani was sentenced to death in Iraq in 2014 for the murder of two soldiers, but was ultimately released from prison last year.

He came from a prominent Sunni tribe, which at the time was fighting against ISIS militants in the western province of Al-Anbar.

He was also a prominent supporter of a 2013 Sunni-led protest movement against the Shia-dominated government.

Alwani arrived in Beirut last week, according to sources, who said that surveillance cameras showed him “voluntarily arriving with two other people at the building where his body was found.”

Preliminary findings of the investigation indicate that he was strangled in the apartment.

A Lebanese national suspected of involvement has been arrested, and authorities are looking for two Syrians suspects still at large, the official said.

He added that the suspects had taken Alwani from the airport to his hotel when he arrived in Beirut last week.