FPM member of Parliament Charbel Maroun alongside relatives of detainees in the case of the Beirut port blast, during a protest in front of the home of Souheil Abboud, Sept. 22, 2022. (Credit: Image capture OTV)
BEIRUT — A court in Beirut summoned MP Charbel Maroun (Free Patriotic Movement/Western Bekaa) on Monday over critical remarks against Judge Souheil Abboud, chairperson of the Higher Judicial Council. Maroun allegedly called Abboud a "corrupt judge" during a protest in front of Abboud's home last week.
Maroun has been summoned to appear before the Beirut Courts of Justice next Thursday at 10 a.m., according to a Ministry of Justice document that circulated on social networks and whose content was confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour by an FPM spokesperson.
"We have spoken with this corrupt judge Souheil Abboud," said Maroun last Thursday during the protest, live on television. The protest was organized by relatives of people detained in the Beirut port blast case, which is currently headed by investigating judge Tarek Bitar. Protesters demanded the detainees' release and the appointment of an alternative judge who would rule on certain issues, believed to be related to the detainees in Bitar’s investigation.
The appointment of an alternative judge is controversial, facing fierce opposition from many relatives of the port blast victims. The relatives have held numerous protests since the Higher Judicial Council announced its decision to appoint a judge.
Groups of victims' families regularly demonstrate against what they consider unfair political interference in a case already blocked on all sides. Judicial sources recently told L'Orient-Le Jour that caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury has proposed the name of Samaranda Nassar, the first investigating judge in North Lebanon, to fill the new position.