Hassan's case referred to Judicial Council, Mikati suspends resignation

The cabinet referred on Saturday Ashrafieh crime to the Judicial Council and called for handing over the telecom data immediately to the concerned apparatuses.     

The cabinet, which convened in an extraordinary session at Baabda Palace, demanded that the ISF Information Branch be turned into a division.                       

Following the session, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said that he has offered his resignation but President Michel Sleiman asked him to stay on for a "period of time", in order to hold discussions with the national dialogue's parties. He noted that Sleiman's request is a proof that he works on preventing Lebanon from falling into strife.               

The PM stressed the necessity of forming a government of national unity in these critical moments, announcing that he was not clinging to his post.                     

Mikati refused to anticipate the course of the investigations, stressing that the Achrafieh crime cannot be separated from the conspiracy revealed in the case of former Minister Michel Samaha.                         

For his part, President Michel Sleiman informed the ministers during the session that he will kick off urgent discussions with the national dialogue's parties to set a date for a dialogue session.                 

In this context, Sleiman called for calming the situation, stressing that the case of the assassination of Wissam al-Hassan must be followed up till the end.