Soha Bechara (; born 15 June 1967) is a Lebanese former prisoner at the

Khiam detention center The Khiam detention center () was an army barracks complex originally used by the French military in the 1930s in Khiam, French Lebanon. Following the establishment of independent Lebanon in 1946, it was used by the Lebanese military until ...

. In 1988, she unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate

Antoine Lahad Antoine Lahad (; 22 August 1927 – 10 September 2015) was a Lebanese military officer and the leader of the South Lebanon Army (SLA) from 1984 until 2000, when the army withdrew from Southern Lebanon and was dissolved. Early life Born into a Ma ...

, the then-leader of the

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

-backed

South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; , ), also known as the Lahad Army () or as the De Facto Forces (DFF), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-dominated militia in Lebanon. It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad H ...

(SLA); she was subsequently arrested and held at the SLA's notorious prison facility in

Khiam Al-Khiyam (; sometimes spelled Khiam) is a large town and municipality in the Nabatieh Governorate of Southern Lebanon. Etymology According to Edward Henry Palmer, the name means tents. Haifa Nassar, a Khiyam-based journalist, cites sources that ...

for ten years.

Early life

Bechara was born in Deir Mimas,

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, to a

Greek Orthodox Christian Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roma ...

family. Her father, Fawaz, was a member of the

Lebanese Communist Party The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP; , transliterated: ) is a communist party in Lebanon. It was founded in 1943 as a division of the Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party into the Syrian Communist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party, but the divi ...

, which Bechara herself also joined secretly in 1982. During the

Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon lasted for eighteen years, from 1982 until 2000. In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks from southern Lebanon by Palestinian militants. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occupied the ...

, she was active within various

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social hierarchies. Left-wing politi ...

political and militant movements, including Jammoul and the Union of Lebanese Democratic Youth.

Attempted assassination

Bechara left college in 1986 and joined resistance activities in Lebanon. She was given the task of assassinating Lahad. Consequently, she headed south, introduced herself to Lahad's family as an aerobics instructor to his wife Minerva. Gradually, she familiarised herself with the family's members and visited them continually. On the evening of the operation, 17 November 1988, Lahad's wife invited Bechara for tea. Bechara accepted the invitation and stayed until Lahad's arrival. As she was packing her belongings and leaving, Bechara twice shot Lahad with a 5.45 mm revolver. He was shot once in the chest and once in the shoulder, then Bechara threw the gun away before his body guards arrested her. Lahad was rushed to a hospital and spent eight weeks there, suffering from serious health complications. His left arm was paralysed. Bechara was detained by the security guards in the house, taken to Israel briefly, where she was interrogated and beaten. She was then taken to Khiam prison for ten years, without being charged or tried. She suffered electric shock torture and six years of solitary confinement in a tiny cell. Bechara was released on September 3, 1998, following an intense Lebanese and European campaign.

Private life

After her release, Bechara moved to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and then to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where she married a Swiss national, with whom she has two children. She has also worked with Collectif Urgence

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

–Genève. Bechara remains a frequent lecturer and advocate for a

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, democratic, and non-sectarian

Writing

In 2000, she published her autobiography, ''Résistante'', relating her early life and her years in jail, with English and Arabic translations following in 2003. In 2011, Bechara published another autobiography, whose Arabic title translates as ''I Dream of a Cell of Cherries''. Her co-author, Cosette Elias Ibrahim, is a Lebanese journalist who was also detained in the Khiam prison. She was released on 22 May 2000, when Israel pulled out of the south of Lebanon and the South Lebanon Army forces abandoned the Khiam prison. Parts of Bechara's story were used in

Wajdi Mouawad Wajdi Mouawad, OC, (; born 1968) is a Lebanese-Canadian writer, actor, and director. He is known in Canadian and French theatre for politically engaged works such as the acclaimed play ''Incendies'' (2003). His works often revolve around famil ...

's 2003 play ''

Incendies ''Incendies'' (; ) is a 2010 Canadian drama film directed by Denis Villeneuve, who co-wrote the screenplay with Valérie Beaugrand-Champagne. Adapted from Wajdi Mouawad's play of the same name, ''Incendies'' stars Lubna Azabal, Mélissa Dés ...

'', which

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...

adapted to the screen in his 2010 film of the same title.

References

External links

Suha Bechara InterviewSignature of "I dream of a cell of cherries"Soha Bechara, Resistance
* This url is no longer linked to this interview: "An ongoing discussion on the Lebanon-Israel conflict"
A 40:00 conversation with Soha Bechara, film by Jayce Salloum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bechara, Soha 1967 births Living people Lebanese people imprisoned abroad Lebanese torture victims Prisoners and detainees of Israel Lebanese left-wing activists Lebanese assassins Lebanese communists Greek Orthodox Christians from Lebanon Lebanese female criminals People of the Lebanese Civil War Lebanese Communist Party politicians Lebanese socialists Women in the Lebanese Civil War