A call for accountability: Justice Minister Henri Khourys stance on Riad Salamehs extradition

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Hours before, the Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, appeared before the Public Prosecution to be interrogated regarding the contents of the "Red Notice" issued by Interpol as part of implementing the French arrest warrant.

The German judiciary issued a second arrest warrant against him for crimes of "corruption, fraud, embezzlement, and money laundering." This widens the scope of the investigations and puts the Lebanese judiciary to the test in dealing with these rapid developments.

This article was originally published in and translated from Lebanese newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat.

However, Lebanon has not officially received the German arrest warrant yet. Still, a judicial source confirmed to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" on Tuesday that "the Public Prosecution received a verbal notification from the prosecutor in Munich, who participated in the investigations conducted in Beirut, about the issuance of the arrest warrant against Salameh." The source added that "the warrant was issued in its local form (in Germany) and will be circulated in the coming hours through Interpol for implementation."

The German arrest warrant further embarrasses the Lebanese government, which has been unable to dismiss the governor and appoint a replacement.

Lebanese Justice Minister, Henri Khoury, reiterated in a statement to "Al-Sharq Al-Awsat" his demand for Salameh to "step down from his position because his legal status is damaged, and he should not remain in his duties."

At the same time, he also emphasized that Lebanon "will not hand over Riad Salameh to the European judiciary," reminding that "Article 30 of the Penal Code prohibits the extradition of any citizen to another country, but Salameh has a judicial file and is being tried based on it in Lebanon."