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1994 Saydet al-Najat Church bombing

OVERTURNED1994Saydet al-Najat Church, Zouk Mikael, Lebanon3 SOURCESUPDATED JUL 2026
Illustrative

On February 27, 1994, at approximately 9:15 a.m., a bomb detonated under the altar of Saydet al-Najat (Our Lady of Deliverance) Church, a Maronite Catholic church in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon, during Sunday Mass while worshippers were receiving communion from Father Antoine Sfeir. More than 200 people were present in the church. The explosion involved C4 explosives and two 81mm mortar rounds; five other explosives were also found in the building. Ten people were killed immediately and 54 were injured; one of the injured later died, bringing the total death toll to 11.

In the aftermath, the Syrian-backed Lebanese government used the bombing as grounds to dissolve the Christian Lebanese Forces (LF) party and arrest its leader, Samir Geagea. On March 19, 1994, LF offices were raided and six people were arrested, including LF secretary general Fouad Malik and members of the LF intelligence apparatus, as well as two members of the Guardians of the Cedars. Around 150 LF members were subsequently detained, and the LF was formally banned on March 23. Geagea himself was arrested on April 21, 1994. The investigation later expanded to include the murder of political rival Dany Chamoun and his family. Geagea and four others were formally indicted for the church bombing on June 13, 1994, and three days later Geagea and twelve others were indicted for the killing of Chamoun, his wife, and two children.

The church bombing trial opened on November 19, 1994. The case relied heavily on a single witness, Girgis Khuri, and was reportedly weakened by the absence of two other LF figures who were in hiding abroad. Commentators described the evidence against Geagea as largely hearsay and circumstantial. The bombing trial was later postponed in disarray after Khuri withdrew his testimony. Separately, on June 24, 1995, Geagea was convicted in the Chamoun murder case and sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour; two co-defendants received shorter terms, and ten LF members were sentenced in absentia. Amnesty International condemned that case as seriously flawed, being based entirely on circumstantial evidence. On July 13, 1996, Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum sought the death penalty for Geagea and several co-defendants in connection with the bombing case, and hard labor for life for others.

Geagea, who maintained his innocence and accused the Syrian-Lebanese security apparatus of orchestrating the bombing as a false flag to justify dissolving the LF, spent 11 years in solitary confinement. Following the 2005 withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon, the case was widely reexamined. On July 18, 2005, the Lebanese Parliament passed an amnesty law that has been characterized as formally exonerating Geagea, with the 1994 trial subsequently described by historians and legal experts as a "show trial" built on manufactured evidence. Geagea was released from solitary confinement on July 26, 2005.

Key facts

Victims
On file
Date
1994
Location
Saydet al-Najat Church, Zouk Mikael, Lebanon
Case status
overturned

Case timeline

  1. 1994-02-27

    Bomb explodes under the altar of Saydet al-Najat Church in Zouk Mikael during Sunday Mass, killing 10 people immediately and injuring 54; one later dies, bringing the toll to 11.

  2. 1994-03-19

    Lebanese Forces offices raided; six people arrested including LF secretary general Fouad Malik.

  3. 1994-03-23

    Lebanese Forces party formally banned by the Lebanese government.

  4. 1994-04-21

    Samir Geagea arrested.

  5. 1994-06-13

    Geagea and four others formally indicted for the church bombing.

  6. 1994-06-16

    Geagea and twelve others indicted for the murder of Dany Chamoun, his wife, and two children.

  7. 1994-11-19

    Trial over the church bombing opens.

  8. 1995-06-24

    Geagea found guilty of the murder of Dany Chamoun and his family; sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment with hard labour.

  9. 1996-07-13

    Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum requests the death penalty for Geagea and others in connection with the bombing case.

  10. 2005-07-18

    Lebanese Parliament passes an amnesty law described as formally exonerating Geagea.

  11. 2005-07-26

    Geagea released from 11 years of solitary confinement.

Best coverage

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People

  • Rafik Al-Fahl

    CHARGED

    Named by Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum in 1996 among those for whom hard labor for life was sought in connection with the bombing case.

  • Rushdi Raad

    CHARGED

    Named by Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum in 1996 among those for whom the death penalty was requested in connection with the bombing case.

  • Fouad Malik

    CHARGED

    Lebanese Forces secretary general arrested in the March 1994 raid on LF offices; later named among those for whom hard labor for life was sought.

  • Paul Al-Fahl

    CHARGED

    Named by Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum in 1996 among those for whom hard labor for life was sought in connection with the bombing case.

  • Jean Shahine

    CHARGED

    Named by Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum in 1996 among those for whom the death penalty was requested in connection with the bombing case.

  • Antonios Elias

    CHARGED

    Named by Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum in 1996 among those for whom the death penalty was requested in connection with the bombing case.

  • Samir Geagea

    EXONERATED

    Arrested and indicted over the church bombing, but that trial collapsed after the sole witness withdrew; separately convicted in 1995 in the Dany Chamoun murder case, a verdict Amnesty International condemned as based on circumstantial evidence; released and, per the Lebanese Parliament's 2005 amnesty law, formally exonerated, with the proceedings widely described as a politically motivated 'show trial'.

  • Jerjes Khoury

    CHARGED

    Named by Public Prosecutor Adnan Addoum in 1996 among those for whom the death penalty was requested in connection with the bombing case.

Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.

Places

Saydet al-Najat Church, Zouk Mikael, Lebanon

33.9808, 35.6089

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Common questions

What happened to the victim?
A bomb exploded during Sunday Mass at Saydet al-Najat Church in Zouk Mikael, Lebanon, on February 27, 1994, killing 11 people and injuring 54. Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea was arrested and prosecuted, but the bombing trial collapsed, and he was later amnestied in a process widely described as a politically motivated "show trial."
Where did the bombing happen?
Saydet al-Najat Church, Zouk Mikael, Lebanon.
What is the current status of the case?
Status: overturned.
More cases in Lebanon

Sources

  1. ENCYCLOPEDIC1994 Saydet al-Najat Church bombingWikipedia · 2026-07-10
  2. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — The New York TimesThe New York Times · 2026-07-10
  3. PRESSContemporaneous coverage — civilsociety-centre.orgcivilsociety-centre.org · 2026-07-10

Record history

First published
JUL 10, 2026