Parliamentarians clash over Beirut port blast investigation resumption

3^min

A session of the Parliament's Administration and Justice turned into a hotspot for judicial discussion, reflected in accusations of recent investigations into the Beirut Port explosion.

The discussion began with MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, who criticized the leaking of the investigation records and the defendants' names, describing it as very dangerous.

Hajj Hassan's words were answered by MP Melhem Khalaf, who affirmed his keenness on the judiciary based on removing political influence from the judiciary and adhering to judicial decisions.

After several interventions, MP Ali Hassan Khalil expressed a complete absence of law in this file, adding that justice has become a service to political interests.

In response to MP Khalaf's comments about non-compliance with judicial decisions, Hassan Khalil said: The head of the Lebanese Forces Party, Samir Geagea, did not appear before the court in the Tayouneh case.

After Hassan Khalil's comment, Representative Georges Adwan intervened directly, saying that: It would have been more useful not to give such examples and to enter names in this manner.

The issue of summoning William Noun also received a lot of verbal altercations. In his intervention, Hassan Khalil said: "I do not understand how someone threatens to blow up the Palace of Justice, and he not get summoned, accusing the change MPs of interfering with the work of the judiciary through the pressure they caused in this case.

Here, the responses came from some change MPs, including Halime Kaakour, Paula Yacoubian, and Melhem Khalaf.

Kaakour said, "whoever says that the judiciary is politicized is the one who politicizes. You interfere with the judiciary, and if you are accused, you argue that it is not independent because you did not appear before it. Let us agree that everyone who offends the judges and the judiciary must also be represented, referring to the Senior Hezbollah official, Wafiq Safa.

MP Ghazi Zaiter then interfered, objecting to how he was notified of the date of the session, describing him as a sick judge, and left the hall angrily.

Zaiter's accusation was objected to by MP Najat Aoun Saliba, who asked for his comments not to be recorded, which MP Georges Adwan did not accept.

By throwing more and more accusations and insults at the judiciary, a session that was supposed to discuss the judiciary's independence and protection from the violations ended up exposing it to more indictments.