Lebanon judges concerned over mounting criticism
Sayyed: Tribunal ruling “downfall of judiciary”
The Higher Judicial Council will meet next week to discuss mounting criticism against Lebanon”s judiciary in the wake of the controversial 44-month detention and surprise release of four generals in the Hariri assassination case.
A well-informed judicial source said the meeting, which was announced Thursday by the council”s president, Magistrate Ghaleb Ghanem, would focus on the "unprecedented campaign against the judicial body."
Brigadier General Jamil Sayyed, one of the security officials the tribunal ordered released on Wednesday, citing insufficient evidence, called for the resignation of senior Lebanese judges.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Sayyed said: "What happened [Wednesday] amounts to the downfall of the Lebanese judiciary at the hands of the international justice."
He added that would consider himself compensated "if the judges who erred, the officers and the journalists who fed the false witnesses with information, resign as a result of the court”s decision."
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon ordered on Wednesday the release of four Lebanese generals held without charge since 2005 on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The release of the generals stirred a wave of reactions among pro-government and opposition forces. Opposition figures called for holding the country”s judicial authorities accountable for keeping the generals in detention without charge.
Sayyed said he would wait for the resignation or dismissal of judges, but if this did not happen, he and the others might eventually bring a lawsuit against those responsible for his detention.
"I do not seek revenge. … Hate is for the weak, but at the same time I like accountability," he said.
For his part, Brigadier Raymond Azar, another released officer, said that "the coming days will prove our innocence," while General Ali Hajj urged Lebanon”s judiciary to justify the detention of him and his comrades.
Meanwhile, President Michel Sleiman said he was relieved by the decision to release the four generals, adding that the move proved that the international tribunal was not politicized.
Addressing Arab and foreign reporters in London on Thursday, Sleiman said the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon”s decision to release the generals means "the international court began its work in a transparent way and free of politicization."
Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblatt said Thursday that he would not drop his political accusations against Syria, although he accepted the decision reached this week.
"We accept the tribunal”s ruling," Jumblatt said following talks with Future Movement leader MP Saad Hariri in Qoreitem.
He added that the STL"decided for the time being" that the officers were not involved in the assassination of Hariri.
Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Thursday that the decision to release the four officers was a good sign that "political influence" had no role in the STL”s actions.
"Certainly, this decision has negative repercussions for the Lebanese judiciary and raised major questions that cannot be disregarded," Mikati said in a statement. He also stressed the need to "stop political interference in judicial issues."
Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah will give a televised address on Al-Manar television channel on Friday. A statement issued by Hizbullah said Nasrallah would tackle the party”s crisis with Egypt and the release of the four officers.
Also on Thursday, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the March 14 Forces should be "proud" of the release of the four generals, stressing that the opposition "has always attempted to hamper the establishment of the tribunal."
In remarks to reporters, Geagea said: "Some parties are trying to benefit from this event to attack the government and Lebanese authorities."
"It wasn”t [former President] Amin Gemayel or Saad Hariri or [MP] Marwan Hamadeh who ordered the arrest of the generals, but Detlev Mehlis and all the prosecutors who succeeded him," Geagea added.
The LF leader also said that the release of the four generals would have a "positive influence on the March 14 Forces and its Cedar Revolution."
The head of the European Commission delegation to Lebanon, Patrick Laurent, said Thursday that the STL was not politicized. During a visit to South Lebanon, Laurent said the tribunal was looking for facts based on a professional process.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet convened on Thursday in an ordinary session, during which ministers commented on the release of the four generals.
Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said the security bodies would cooperate to protect the officers. However, Baroud added that he had learned, via the tribunal, that some of the four did not want protection.
For his part, Minister of State Wael Bou Faour urged the Lebanese politicians not to misuse the issue to "destroy the judiciary and government institutions."
Energy Minister Minister Mohammed Fneish, a member of Hizbullah, said that his party”s stance on the politicization of the tribunal did not change with the release of the generals. The Cabinet was still in session when The Daily Star went to press.