Mansour Labaki's trial took place on Monday at the criminal court of Caen in France. (Credit: Caroline Hayek)
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In the latest twist in an increasingly dizzying series of legal maneuvers around the Beirut port blast investigation, the Court of Appeals judge responsible for last week's suspension of the probe was suspended from the case against investigating Judge Tarek Bitar. Judge Habib Mezher was suspended yesterday after being officially notified of a suit filed by the group United for Lebanon, which accuses him of exceeding his jurisdiction. Bitar was forced to halt the investigation on Thursday after the Court of Appeals notified him of a lawsuit submitted by former minister Youssef Fenianos, who the judge had summoned for interrogation. Legal experts previously told L'Orient Today that the Court of Appeals does not have the jurisdiction to remove an investigating judge and that lawsuits filed to the court requesting Bitar’s replacement were merely a stalling tactic. Earlier on Tuesday, activists sealed Mezher’s office with red wax as a symbolic move to show that the judge was “surpassing the law.” A rally in support of Bitar is expected to be held on Wednesday at 11 a.m. in front of the Beirut Court of Appeals.
Subsidies on medicines for chronic illnesses are set to be partially removed, Health Minister Firass Abiad announced yesterday. Abiad did not provide a list of the drugs affected but said that subsidies would remain in place for some crucial medications, including those for cancer, dialysis and mental illnesses. Lebanon has been grappling with drug shortages for months. Abiad did not provide a timeframe for when the new prices would come into effect. The Health Ministry had partially ended subsidies on medicine priced under LL12,000 and those that can be found in primary health centers in July, but the subsidies on drugs for chronic diseases and neurological disorders, infant formula and vaccines remained in place, although in practice the subsidized drugs were often difficult to find, leading to accusations of hoarding.
Lebanese priest Mansour Labaki has been sentenced in absentia to 15 years in prison by a criminal court in France for the rape and sexual assault of children. The court convicted the 81-year-old Maronite priest after nearly two hours of discussion. The lawyer of three plaintiffs told L'Orient-Le Jour that at least 40 victims are listed in the file and warned that there are likely more victims in Lebanon who have been forced to stay silent while Labaki remains in the country. An international arrest warrant was issued against Labaki back in 2016, but Lebanon refused to extradite him. The court in Caen had launched an investigation into the priest in 2013, and Labaki has not returned to France since.
Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib warned yesterday that the amended date for the 2022 parliamentary elections would not give his ministry enough time to prepare for Lebanese expatriates to vote. Bou Habib wrote in a letter to Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi that the earlier election date would make it difficult to finalize the list of registered voters and install polling stations. “We are sending you this letter to affirm that it will not be possible to organize the elections outside Lebanese territory within the amended deadlines,” Bou Habib said. He asked that his ministry not be held responsible if it was unable to meet the deadlines and if the rights of expatriate voters were not respected. Amendments to the electoral law, which include moving the date of elections from May 8 to March 27, were approved for the second time by Parliament on Oct. 28, after President Michel Aoun had initially rejected them. The Free Patriotic Movement announced on Saturday it would file an appeal against the amendments before the Constitutional Council.