Protesters in front of Beirut’s secretive Military Tribunal demand the release of those detained over recent unrest in Tripoli. (Credit: João Sousa/L’Orient Today)
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Several hundred protesters gathered in front of the Military Tribunal in Beirut, calling for the release of demonstrators who were detained during chaotic protests in Tripoli last month. Our sister publication L’Orient-Le Jour reported that about 300 demonstrators gathered, with some coming from Tripoli to join the crowd. An attorney representing the protesters said there were 24 demonstrators detained as of Wednesday. Protesters had also gathered in front of the court on Monday. Human Rights Watch has condemned the practice of trying civilians in military courts.
Family and friends of murdered activist and researcher Lokman Slim will hold a socially distanced celebration of his life in the garden of his family home in Haret Hreik today. The memorial event is set to begin at 10:40 a.m. with both Islamic and Christian prayers and will include speeches by family members and foreign dignitaries. It will be live streamed on the Facebook page of Umam Documentation & Research, the organization Slim founded with his wife, Monika Borgmann. The garden will be open to those wishing to pay their respects from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Caretaker Education Minister Tarek Majzoub said Wednesday that official exams will go ahead this academic year unless the coronavirus situation in the country deteriorates. He said the school system is preparing to return to a “blended learning” approach, with a mix of online and in-person classes, and asked that teachers and students be prioritized for vaccination against COVID-19. Last year, the brevet and baccalaureate exams, which are normally required for students to graduate from the 9th and 12th grade, respectively, were canceled in light of the pandemic and closure of schools.
Due to COVID-19, there will be no public event to mark the 16th anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination Sunday, the Future Movement announced. Instead, his son and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will give a televised speech. This will be the first time the event is marked since the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon last August handed down its long-awaited verdict in the bombing attack that killed Hariri and 21 others, finding Salim Ayyash, one out of the four defendants, guilty in absentia. The elder Hariri’s killing has drawn renewed attention in light of the Feb. 4 murder of activist Lokman Slim, which has led many observers to point to the lack of accountability in past political killings in the country.