Members of the Lebanese Dental Association in the Bekaa protested on Wednesday the murder of their colleague the day before by holding a sit-in at the Zahle Justice Palace. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT – Members of the Lebanese Dental Association in the Bekaa protested on Wednesday the murder of their colleague the day before by holding a sit-in at the Zahle Justice Palace, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Here’s what we know:
• The Bekaa LDA head, Dr. Khaled Saleh, said that the association “condemns the awful, premeditated and planned crime against Dr. Elie Michel Jasser,” saying that the murder is indicative of “a lapse in legislation and the state’s neglect of its responsibilities in protecting medical staff.”
• Saleh demanded that “security forces and judicial authorities dispense the strictest penalties on the perpetrator.” The union head expressed worries over “preferential treatment and deals” that would compromise the case and threatened “an escalation in protest.”
• On Monday, Elie Jasser was stabbed to death in his clinic. The alleged assailant was taken into custody by the Internal Security Forces the same day and was reported to have killed Jasser over a dispute regarding the dentist’s treatment of his fiance.
• Saleh mentioned that the assault on Jasser was “not the first of its kind.” On Tuesday, the Rafic Hariri University Hospital issued a statement decrying an assault on the Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Center the previous day, reportedly motivated by the death of a patient, that injured members of the center’s medical and administrative staff.
• On Monday, Health Minister Firass Abiad issued a statement after meeting with parliamentary health committee members and representatives of medical personnel addressing assaults on doctors and hospitals. Abiad proposed the inauguration of a hotline through which patients can express their complaints, along with a campaign to raise awareness on the role of medical personnel.