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There was increased pressure by Syria on Geagea to accept the [[Syrian occupation of Lebanon|Syrian presence]] or face charges. Prior to his arrest, he was contacted by several sympathetic politicians and warned about the forthcoming proceedings and offered safe passage out of Lebanon. Geagea refused to leave.<ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://www.meib.org/articles/0405_ld.htm|title=Dossier: Samir Geagea Leader of the Lebanese Forces (LF) movement|access-date=5 July 2008|format=.html|author=Ziad K. Abdel Nour|work=Middle East Intelligence Bulletin|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040529013909/http://www.meib.org/articles/0405_ld.htm|archive-date=29 May 2004}}</ref> The Syrians exploited the vulnerabilities of the amnesty law promulgated by then president [[Elias Hrawi]] for all the crimes and atrocities committed before 1990. This law also stated that any crime committed after that date will void the effect of the amnesty. On 26 January 1994, Geagea went to [[Qardaha]], Syria to offer his condolences to President [[Hafez al-Assad]], following the death of his son [[Bassel al-Assad|Bassel]] in a car accident.<ref>{{cite book|author=Nader Moumneh|title=The Lebanese Forces: Emergence and Transformation of the Christian Resistance|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2018|page=201|isbn=9780761870760}}</ref> During his visit to Syria, president's brother-in-law, [[Mohammed Makhlouf]], asked him to talk with Syrian officers, but Geagea said that he only came for the funeral, which was considered as a refusal to cooperate with the Syrians.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lebanondebate.com/news/418081|script-title=ar:25 سنة على زيارة جعجع الى سوريا... تفاصيل تروى للمرة الاولى|website=lebanondebate.com|language=ar|date=21 January 2019}}</ref>
On 27 February 1994, a [[Saydet al-Najat Church Explosion (Lebanon, 1994)|bomb exploded in the Church of Sayyidet Al Najet]] (Our Lady of Deliverance) in the locality of [[Zouk Mikael]] killing 9 worshipers and injuring many. It is unknown who perpetrated the bombing and it was ultimately attributed to some shadowy groups, but Samir Geagea was accused of the crime solely for the purpose of voiding the effect of the amnesty law of which he benefited, in the same way as all political and militia leaders from other communities and regions were benefiting despite their many unspeakable crimes throughout the Lebanese civil war.<ref name="LLcrime"/><ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E3DF143AF93BA15751C0A962958260 Blast in Lebanon Church Kills 9 and Injures 60], ''The New York Times'', 28 February 1994. Retrieved on 27 March 2008.</ref> On 23 March 1994, the Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the LF and Geagea's deputy Fouad Malek was taken into custody.<ref>[https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B06E6D8133CF937A15750C0A962958260 Lebanon Detains Christian in Church Blast], ''The New York Times'', 24 March 1994. Retrieved on 27 March 2008.</ref> Geagea himself was arrested on 21 April 1994 in his village [[Ghidras|Ghadras]], on charges of ordering the church bombing, of attempting to undermine government authority by "maintaining a militia in the guise of a political party", of instigating acts of violence, and of committing assassinations during the [[Lebanese Civil War]]. He was accused of the assassinations of former prime minister [[Rashid Karami]],<ref name=alawin05>{{cite journal|last=Alagha|first=Joseph|title=Hizballah after the Syrian Withdrawal|journal=Middle East Report|date=Winter 2005|volume=237|issue=237|pages=34–39|jstor=30042473|doi=10.2307/30042473}}</ref> National Liberal Party leader [[Dany Chamoun]] and his family, and former LF member Elias Al Zayek. He was also accused of attempting to kill Minister Michel Murr. He was acquitted in the church case but given four life sentences in the other cases. [[Amnesty International]] criticized Samir Geagea's trial and conviction, citing that it was politically motivated and unjust.<ref name="bio"/><ref name="LA Times">[https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-06-25-mn-17158-story.html "Lebanese Ex-Warlord Sentenced in Rival's Slaying : Mideast: Christian is the first militia chief convicted of civil war crimes. Many received amnesty. Eleven associates are also sentenced."], ''Los Angeles Times'', 25 June 1995. Retrieved on 14 October 2016.</ref><ref name="LCHRF">{{cite web|last=Amnesty International|title=Annual Report on Lebanon (1996)|work=Canadian Lebanese Human Rights Federation|access-date=22 June 2009|url=http://www.clhrf.com/reports/amesty96.htm}}</ref>
=== Imprisonment ===
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