On Oct. 20, Lebanon’s highest court issued a landmark ruling, sentencing two members of the local Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) to death. The verdict marks the end of a decadeslong case that prosecuted Habib Shartouni for the assassination of President-elect Bashir Gemayel during the country’s civil war. For some Lebanese, the sentence provided a sense of justice, while others suspect that political motivations were behind the ruling.

Gemayel, who was a prominent leader within the predominantly Maronite Catholic Kataeb (Phalange) Party, has been a highly revered figure by Christians both inside the party and out. Shortly after his election in 1982, he had agreed to discuss the normalization of diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Israel, which was opposed by several leftist groups in the country. In response, Shartouni planted a bomb outside the Kataeb headquarters on Sept. 14, 1982, killing Gemayel and at least 32 others.

Following the bombing, Shartouni was arrested and imprisoned for eight years without trial. He escaped during a Syrian military offensive. Although his current whereabouts are unknown, he had spent several years in hiding in Damascus, which has backed the SSNP. Shartouni was tried in absentia along with Nabil al-Alam, who was accused of masterminding the bombing. Some believe Alam is already deceased.

Speaking to Al-Monitor, member of parliament Nadim Gemayel, Bashir’s son, hailed the trial as a victory of transitional justice, which could deter similar attacks in the future. “This judgment is very significant, not only for me and my family and our son, or the daughter or wife of Bashir Gemayel who was assassinated. It is very important for all the country and for the state of law of Lebanon since none of all the terrorist attacks that happened in Lebanon in the last 40 years, none of them have been judged or elucidated. So it is very important for us to know that, in Lebanon, justice can prevail,” said Gemayel.