Geagea accuses Hizbullah of endangering stability
Generals release “does not mean their innocence”
Lebanese Forces (LF) leader Samir Geagea accused Hizbullah of putting the country”s stability in danger by challenging the integrity of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL).
In a news conference held Monday at his residence in Maarab, Geagea reiterated that the release of the four former security officers did not mean their innocence. "The release of the generals was due to lack of evidence, not innocence," he said.
In response to a speech by Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, the LF leader said that Nasrallah wanted to distort the image of the STL "to later refuse any decision issued by the tribunal."
Geagea also stressed the STL”s independence and integrity, adding that the history of special and international tribunals confirm that those could not be politicized.
Commenting on the campaign launched by the opposition against the Lebanese judiciary, the LF leader said the opposition "is the last one who has the right to talk about reforming the judiciary."
According to Geagea, "thousands of unjust verdicts were issued by the former judicial body against LF members, while opposition figures were in the government."
"Human rights organizations have recorded thousands of unjust and unjustified verdicts issued under the previous tutelage”s authority," he added.
Meanwhile, the Higher Judicial Council will convene on Tuesday to reply to attacks launched by the opposition in light of the release of four Lebanese former security officers, who were detained for four years without trial.
Judicial sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) on Monday that the council would "issue a calm and moderate statement and will stress that the judiciary can be held accountable only by the constitutional institutions."
The sources added that the council would highlight the role of the judicial inspection authorities, "which have the sole competence to deal with such issues."
The CNA also said that the attorneys representing the four generals were about to file a lawsuit against Public Prosecutor Said Mirza and the judicial investigator in the case of former Premier Rafik Hariri”s assassination Magistrate Sakr Sakr.
The agency quoted well-informed sources as saying that some political forces were urging the opposition to refrain from holding demonstrations before the Justice Palace on Tuesday, to avoid security confrontations.
The CNA also reported that Mirza left with his wife for Prague early Monday.
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar submitted to the Cabinet”s general secretariat on Monday a proposal to amend Article 108 of the Criminal Procedures Code, in light of discussions conducted during a Cabinet session on Thursday.
The proposal would limit the period a suspect can be held without prosecution for state security and terrorism related crimes to six months, which can be renewed only once.
Article 108 does not specify a deadline for arresting suspects in such crimes without prosecution.
The head of the Progressive Socialist Party, MP Walid Jumblatt, said Monday that the Lebanese judiciary should "be kept away from political bickering."
In his weekly article to the Al-Anbaa newspaper, Jumblatt said "attacking the judiciary weakens the state and yields negatively on the different Lebanese institutions."
MP Michel Murr said Monday there may have been a "certain injustice" in the years-long detention of four top generals, but "this does not justify the attack on the judiciary," adding: "We must maintain respect for the judiciary and be well aware of the extent of this campaign and where will it lead."
Murr said the release of the generals would not affect the elections in the districts of Achrafieh, Baabda and Metn.
The UN Security Council will likely discuss on Thursday the political upheaval that resulted from the release of the four generals, An-Nahar newspaper quoted Arab and Western diplomats as saying on Monday.
UN special envoy for the implementation of Resolution 1559 Terje Roed-Larsen will brief the council Thursday on UN chief Ban Ki-moon”s latest report on the implementation of the 1559.
In the report, Ban warned that Hizbullah and other armed militias were fostering instability and intimidation as parliamentary elections near, An-Nahar added.
Diplomatic sources told An-Nahar the council could also discuss the four generals” release, which helped foster deep divisions between the pro-government and opposition forces.
The sources urged Ban to draw to the attention of the tribunal”s general prosecutor Daniel Bellemare and pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen that they should take into consideration the repercussions of any decision or recommendation.