MP and former Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil requested that the judge investigating him be removed from the case. (Credit: Mohammad Azakir/Reuters)
Judge Fadi Sawwan rescheduled the hearings of two sitting MPs charged in the investigation into the Beirut port explosion. Former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter failed to appear for questioning with Sawwan, who is leading the probe, yesterday. Sawwan then rescheduled the hearing to Jan. 4, after Parliament’s fall term ends, a judicial source told L’Orient Today. If the legislature is not called into extraordinary session, parliamentary immunity will no longer apply. Zeaiter and Khalil submitted a request to remove Sawwan from the case, repeating disputed claims that Sawwan’s charges violated the constitution and accusing the judge of having a “political agenda.”
Parliament has sent a letter asking Fadi Sawwan to provide evidence of any “serious suspicions” he has around officials he has interrogated as part of his investigations into the port blast. Speaking from Ain al-Tineh, Deputy Speaker Elie Ferzli said that Parliament is not able to ascertain whether charges against caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and three former ministers are justified without “clear evidence.” Ferzli also said that having received a letter from Sawwan listing the names of former ministers, Parliament had so far not found “any suspicion, either serious or non-serious” against them that would warrant the formation of parliamentary investigative committees.
Nabih Berri called a single-day legislative session of Parliament for Monday to consider some 70 items. According to a draft agenda seen by L’Orient Today, MPs will vote on draft laws including: the criminalization of sexual harassment; the creation of a temporary unemployment fund; a trade agreement with the UK; removing subsidies on imported pharmaceuticals that are produced locally; and lifting banking secrecy on public accounts since 1990. If Parliament’s Public Works, Transportation, Energy and Water Committee approves a draft law renewing the operational contract between Électricité de Zahle and Électricité du Liban today, MPs will also vote on that. Also today in Parliament, the Youth and Sports Committee will continue discussion on the licensing of sports clubs and the National Economy, Trade, Industry and Planning Committee will discuss proposals on protecting local industry.
Saad Hariri visited the Maronite patriarch in Bkirki last night after tensions between the premier-designate and Michel Aoun erupted earlier this week. Conflicting justifications for the holdup in cabinet formation had erupted in a war of words, with the president accusing the premier-designate of making “one-sided” decisions on naming ministers, especially Christians. Leaders are under pressure to agree on the makeup of a government before the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron next week.
For the first time in nearly a month, the daily number of recorded COVID-19 cases exceeded 2,000. According to the Health Ministry, 2,056 people tested positive for the virus yesterday, with 19.1 percent of locally conducted tests coming back positive. Earlier in the day, caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan had foreshadowed the increase in cases, attributing it to additional rapid antigen tests, which do not yet feature on the ministry’s daily report and are not included in positivity rate calculations. Nevertheless, he warned that as the holiday season approaches, people must remain “vigilant and careful.” Meanwhile, the coronavirus committee recommended extending operation hours in the hospitality sector to 3 a.m. following recent protests by nightclub and restaurant owners.