Najjar to Seek Amendment of Criminal Procedure Law while Mirza, Saqr Refuse to Resign
The justice minister is preparing a draft law to amend the law of criminal procedure setting a time limit for the detention of suspects under investigation, the Lebanese daily An Nahar reported Sunday.
Ibrahim Najjar”s proposal to amend Article 108 comes as the Higher Judicial Council prepares to meet on Tuesday to contain a wave of condemnation triggered by the release of four generals held over the murder of ex-premier Rafik Hariri.
Under the current law – kept in place by former President Emile Lahoud – authorities can detain suspects in terrorism and security-related crimes indefinitely pending investigation.
Minority forces have called for the judiciary to be held accountable over what they described as the "arbitrary" detention of the four officials, who have been held since August 2005 without charge.
Official sources told An Nahar that "the judiciary will be left to bear its responsibilities in this case and prove its credibility … its complete independence from the executive authority."
Al-Manar television reported plans by the minority to stage a sit-in at the Justice Ministry to force the resignation Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza and examining magistrate Saqr Saqr.
In an interview with al-Manar, Mirza rejected calls by Jamil al-Sayyed, one of the freed generals, to step down resignation saying "it was out of the questions."
"There are procedures and laws that I abide by," he added.
In the meantime, the parliamentary majority "warned against harming the judiciary," and accused the minority of playing up the generals” release for electoral gains, the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat reported Sunday.
"The current campaign (against the judiciary) is clearly being coordinated between the leaders of the opposition and goes beyond merely targeting the majority and the judiciary" a high-ranking source in March 14 told the paper.
He said the campaign will use the banner of "judicial accountability" to go as far as "pushing President Michel Suleiman to respond to the opposition”s demands."
The opposition eventually hopes to "drown" Suleiman in a "biased policy" that adopts its positions, especially regarding the international tribunal and to "blackmail" the president by using his approval of "a centrist" parliamentary bloc Suleiman for electoral gains.
The source expressed concern that the opposition was seeking to "paralyze both the judiciary and the security forces in the next phase."