The October 2021 clashes in Tayyouneh left seven dead, including a bystander. (Credit: João Soussa/L'Orient Today))
Ghada Aoun, Mount Lebanon Appellate Court public prosecutor, is trying to equally deal with a complaint and a counter-complaint brought last week against Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, respectively, in relation to the Oct. 14. Tayyouneh clashes.
On that day, hundreds of Hezbollah and Amal supporters gathered in front of the Justice Palace to protest against Tarek Bitar, the investigating judge in charge of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion probe. Deadly armed clashes erupted on the sidelines of the demonstration, leaving seven people dead, six from within the Shiite bloc’s ranks, and one civilian.
The magistrate, who referred the lawsuit, which the residents of the Chiyah neighborhood lodged against Mr. Geagea on Dec. 20, to State Security, did the same with the counter-suit that the residents of the Ain al-Rummaneh neighborhood brought against Mr. Nasrallah Friday.
Since the lawsuits consist of “political” accusations, several judicial sources indicated that “it is highly unlikely” that they lead to the conviction of either of the accused.
The complaint accuses Geagea of a “deliberate crime” that killed “the Tayyouneh martyrs.” The residents of Ain al-Rummaneh accuse Nasrallah of “terrorist acts, subverting national unity, using illegal weapons and [of] bodily injury and damage to property.”
Prior to Ms. Aoun’s decision, there were fears, especially within LF circles, that she would apply double standards that are to Mr. Geagea’s disadvantage.
A senior judicial source told L’Orient-Le Jour Sunday that the chief prosecutor could have rejected the case against Hezbollah’s leader, on the grounds that his name is not fully mentioned.
The same source added that Ms. Aoun could have refused to refer the case for investigation, citing a lack of information to justify her decision.
This would have amounted to “a legal scandal,” Elie Mahfoud, a lawyer hired by the plaintiffs of Ain al-Rummaneh, told L’Orient-Le Jour.
“In my 22-year career, I have never seen a prosecutor reject a case for incomplete information regarding the identity of the accused,” he said, pointing out that the complaint specifies that the lawsuit is against “Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s secretary-general.”
“The loophole can be filled by the security services,” he added, “to which the case has been referred.”
As for the security service to which Friday’s complaint was referred, LF circles denounced the fact that “State security (whose head is close to President Michel Aoun) is now in charge of the case, when the case should have been entrusted to the judicial police (the army intelligence service).”
A source at the public prosecutor's office in Baabda voiced a different opinion, noting that the referral had been made “for consultation only,” mainly to obtain “Hassan Nasrallah’s full name.”
According to the aforementioned source, the prosecutor could either reject the case against Mr. Nasrallah, or declare that the case does not fall within her jurisdiction. She seems more likely to exercise the second option, the source added, since the accusations are related to “terrorism,” which falls within military justice’s jurisdiction.
To come to an abrupt end…
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a lawyer familiar with the case rejected assertions that the attorney general has jurisdiction in this case. “Since the military prosecution has already probed the Tayyouneh clashes,” he said, “no other jurisdiction can study the case.”
In the same vein, the lawyer noted that if Ms. Aoun rules that the case against Mr. Nasrallah falls beyond her jurisdiction, she must not pursue the lawsuit against Mr. Geagea on similar grounds.
A source close to the prosecutor’s office estimates that Ms. Aoun would go for this option, probably as she reserves the right to decide only on the “personal rights” (compensatory damage) of the victims’ parents, after the military court renders its ruling.
In any case, a senior judicial source argued that the two lawsuits consist of “political” cases and should be handled with “a keen and cautious mind.” This leads us to believe that both cases will come to an abrupt end, with neither of the leaders winning this round.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour. Translation by Joelle El Khoury.
