Samaha’s defense attorneys file legal complaint against Rifi and Hassan

Former minister Michel Samaha’s interrogation session came to an end and is expected to be resumed at a later time. The session had started earlier on Monday at the Military court in the presence of one defense attorney.            

Following the session, one of Samaha’s attorneys, Malek Sayyed, stressed that investigations are back on "the legal" track, hoping that they will steer clear from political pressure. Sayyed called on the press to be careful and accurate while publishing any leaks.        

Two recent reports leaked to the media stipulating Samaha’s denial of his testimony signed before the acting public prosecutor Samir Hammoud. In those regards, the case will be reinvestigated as opposed to moving on to an oral interrogation conducted by Military Judge Riad Abu Ghida; something Samaha’s attorneys’ neither confirmed nor denied.       

Sources close to the defense told LBCI that at the beginning of the interrogation session, the defense attorneys made a direct legal claim against General Ashraf Rifi and Colonel Wissam al-Hassan on charges of leaking information, in contrast to the investigations’ confidentiality and credibility and to the notion of innocent until proven guilty.      

Accordingly, the sources considered that with Samaha’s case being referred to the military court, it has now been handed over from the “enemy camp” to a neutral one keeping his safety as the utmost priority. This, according to the sources, will allow Samaha to confide his side of the story without restrictions.  In previous comments, Samaha was quoted as saying that his testimony was given under extraordinary circumstances; something that will be done differently given the new location.         

In contrast, a well-informed security source said that all that has been relayed via Samaha’s defense attorneys are nothing but a waste of time. The source stressed that the evidence against Samaha are decisive and clear, adding that the meetings between Samaha and witness Milad Kfoury are documented in all detail. The source revealed that Samaha had signed the minutes pertaining to the investigation “under no pressure” as per his statement made to the acting public prosecutor judge Samir Hammoud.         

It is noteworthy that Samaha was allowed to see his family for the first time since his arrest prior to his transfer to the military court’s prison in al-Rayhaniyeh.