Lebanon arrests man after video of public assault on wife goes viral

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s security forces arrested a man at a hotel north of Beirut on Thursday after a video of him assaulting his wife in public went viral earlier this week, reviving a debate about gender-based violence that has claimed the lives of numerous women in Lebanon in recent years.

In a statement released Thursday, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said the suspect, a Lebanese man born in 1992, was arrested while hiding in a hotel in the coastal city of Jounieh, about 12 miles (20 kilometers) north of Beirut.

The suspect, identified only by his initials T.M., was referred to judicial authorities and legal proceedings have been initiated, the statement said.

What happened: A video that began circulating on social media Sunday showed a couple at a restaurant in the town of Chtaura in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, about 27 miles (44 kilometers) east of Beirut. After what appeared to be a heated argument, the man stood up, threw the woman to the ground and repeatedly struck her in the head.

Restaurant employees and customers intervened, rushing to the woman's aid and restraining her attacker.

According to local media reports, the couple had been attempting to resolve an ongoing marital dispute at the restaurant. The altercation escalated after the woman refused to leave with her husband.

The woman was taken to a hospital for treatment. The man, reportedly a dentist, fled the scene before police arrived and remained at large until his arrest on Thursday.

Why it matters: The incident sparked widespread outrage and renewed debate over the protection of women from domestic violence in Lebanon, where activists say existing laws and protections are poorly enforced.

According to 2024 statistics published by KAFA (Enough) Violence and Exploitation, a local group fighting for women’s rights, at least 17 femicides were recorded in the first seven months of 2024. During the same period, the organization documented more than 1,561 cases of violence against women, including emotional, physical, sexual and economic abuse.

Several high-profile femicides in recent years have intensified calls for stronger protections.

In December 2024, the case of 25-year-old Lebanese journalist Abeer Rahhal, who was shot dead by her husband inside a Sharia court in the town of Chehime in the Chouf district, shocked Lebanese society. The man later committed suicide.

In March 2023, 26-year-old Zainab Ali Zeaiter was shot 10 times by her husband in front of her three children in Beirut's Choueifat neighborhood. Zeaiter had endured years of abuse before she was killed after her husband accused her of infidelity.

Four months later, women's rights activist Maria Hitti, a member of the Lebanese League for Women in Business, was shot dead in broad daylight in a Zahle parking lot by her former boyfriend. He had stalked and threatened her after she discovered he was married and ended their relationship.

In 2021, Zeina Kanjo, a 33-year-old model, was strangled to death by her husband. Kanjo had filed several domestic violence complaints against him and was in the process of divorcing him before she was killed.

The killings are among numerous cases that women's rights advocates say underscore persistent gaps in legal protections and enforcement.

In a landmark 2011 reform, Lebanon abolished Article 562 of its Criminal Code, which had allowed reduced sentences for so-called honor killings — murders committed by relatives who claim a woman has brought shame to the family. Three years later, parliament passed the country’s first law criminalizing domestic violence against women.

The law's first conviction came in July 2014, when Hussein Ftouni, 30, was sentenced to nine months in prison and fined 20 million Lebanese pounds (about $13,200 at the time, before the collapse of the local currency) for abusing his 22-year-old wife, Tamara Harisi.

Despite those legal reforms, rights groups say enforcement remains weak, arguing that social stigma, family and religious pressures as well as fear of retaliation often discourage women from reporting abuse, leading many to be resolved privately rather than through the formal legal system.

Know more: Since the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hezbollah in October 2023, UN agencies and human rights groups have warned that the conflict could exacerbate gender-based violence.

According to UN Women, 85% of displaced women and girls live in overcrowded apartments and informal facilities in Lebanon, conditions that make it more difficult to report abuse and access support services. 

“These are not just difficult conditions — they are creating serious protection risks, including exploitation, abuse, and gender-based violence,” UN Women said in a statement in March.