Lokman Slim was a leading critic of Hezbollah. (Credit: Lokman Slim’s office/AFP)
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Lebanon was shaken by the killing of prominent Hezbollah critic and writer Lokman Slim. After going missing Wednesday night, Slim was found dead the next morning in the front seat of a rental car in south Lebanon with four bullet wounds to the head and another to the back. Slim, who lived in Beirut’s Haret Hreik neighborhood where Hezbollah enjoys strong support, had spoken publicly on multiple occasions about receiving threats to his life. “I hold responsible Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Amal Movement head Nabih Berri for what has happened, and what will happen,” Slim said in 2019. His death was met with an outpouring of grief for a man who was praised for his political activism and commitment to archiving Lebanon’s complex history, anger for the brutal way in which he was killed and calls for an international investigation.
Families of those killed in the Beirut port explosion marked six months without justice. During demonstrations outside the Beirut Justice Palace and at the entrance to the port, family members clutching photographs of their loved ones called on Judge Fadi Sawwan, the lead investigator in the case, to hold those responsible to account. The investigation has been stalled for more than a month — first due to accusations that Sawwan was acting with political motives and later thanks to the suspension of judicial activities during the coronavirus lockdown.
The ministerial committee on COVID-19 is set to make a decision today on whether the current strict lockdown will be extended. The director of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Firass Abiad, told L’Orient Today that an agreement is unlikely to be reached easily between those pushing for an extension and those arguing that it would be catastrophic for livelihoods and the economy. The restrictions, which included a 24-hour curfew and the shuttering of most businesses and government offices, came into force on Jan. 14 and are set to come to an end on Monday. Over the last three weeks, new cases of COVID-19 have declined, albeit amid significantly reduced testing, but hospitals are still struggling with large numbers of hospitalizations and daily death tolls remain high.
Lebanon’s most senior prosecutor sent Swiss authorities an initial response to their request for judicial assistance in an investigation into potential embezzlement at the central bank. Judge Ghassan Oueidat sent copies of documents from Banque du Liban regarding transfers abroad and records of hearings with BDL Gov. Riad Salameh, his brother Raja and his assistant Marianne Hoayek, a judicial source told L’Orient Today. In return, Oueidat reportedly asked the Swiss authorities to provide him with any information they have gathered, ostensibly so that he can open a local investigation if there is sufficient evidence to do so.
The husband of Lebanese model Zeina Kanjo was charged with her murder. Beirut appellate prosecutor Judge Ziad Abu Haidar brought charges against Ibrahim Ghazal for the alleged killing of Kanjo, who was found dead in Ghazal’s Beirut apartment over the weekend with signs of strangulation. She had previously filed complaints against her husband for domestic violence and had requested a divorce. Ghazal is on the run from the law, having fled the country for Istanbul hours after her death, the Kanjo family’s lawyer told L’Orient-Le Jour earlier this week.