Lebanon: Husband Has Penis Chopped off in Town Square for Inter-faith Marriage

A Lebanese man has had his penis publically chopped off by his wife's relatives, as punishment for the couple's interfaith marriage.

The man, identified as Rabih Ahmed, reportedly belongs to the Sunni sect of Islam and his wife to the ultra-conservative Druze community, which is a religious minority in Lebanon.

Ahmed, 39, was taken to the Al-Shohar al-Gharbi Hospital in the Chouf district on Monday night. He was then transferred to the Rafik Hariri hospital in Beirut on Wednesday, after his condition stabilised.

Ahmad and his 19-year-old wife, Rudayna Melaab from Chouf's Baysour village, eloped two weeks ago. However, they lied to her family and said Ahmad belonged to a Druze community from another town in the same district.

Melaab's family initially believed the couple but realised they had been deceived a few days later. However, by that time the couple were living together in Tabarja, a coastal town.

After initially expressing anger and disapproval, the woman's family then invited the couple home for dinner, pretending to reconcile with the couple and honour their marriage.

However, when the couple reached the woman's home, her relatives attacked the man. Her brother, reportedly a soldier in the Lebanese Army, and other members of the family dragged Ahmad to the main square. It was there that Ahmad was set upon and brutalised.

According to local media, when Ahmed reached the hospital, his penis was missing and the testicles were ruptured. In an interview with Al-Jadeed TV on Tuesday, Ahmad identified the attackers as his wife's father and brother, saying "they cut it off to set an example".

Neither the woman nor her relatives have been seen since the attack, according to their neighbours.

The Druze community is known for an extreme protection of their faith, allowing neither conversions nor marriages outside their sect.