Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai receiving William Noun in Bkiri on Jan. 15, 2023. (Credit: Facebook/Maronite Patriarchate)
“My plane lands [in Beirut] at 4:30 p.m. If by then William Noun is not released, I will act personally.” These were the words of Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, who was on a trip to London on Jan. 14.The day before, William Noun, the brother of firefighter Joe Noun, who died in the August 2020 Beirut port blast, was arrested on the orders of Judge Zaher Hamadeh, a few days after his remarks on a television talk show in which he threatened “to blow up the Justice Palace” in Beirut, which he blames for the stalled port investigation.The news of Noun’s arrest outraged his parents, the relatives of the victims of the explosion, as well as some MPs affiliated with the protest movement, all of whom flocked to the State Security headquarters in Ramlet al-Baida, or gathered on the Jbeil highway to protest Noun’s detention.Ziad Hawat,...
“My plane lands [in Beirut] at 4:30 p.m. If by then William Noun is not released, I will act personally.” These were the words of Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai, who was on a trip to London on Jan. 14.The day before, William Noun, the brother of firefighter Joe Noun, who died in the August 2020 Beirut port blast, was arrested on the orders of Judge Zaher Hamadeh, a few days after his remarks on a television talk show in which he threatened “to blow up the Justice Palace” in Beirut, which he blames for the stalled port investigation.The news of Noun’s arrest outraged his parents, the relatives of the victims of the explosion, as well as some MPs affiliated with the protest movement, all of whom flocked to the State Security headquarters in Ramlet al-Baida, or gathered on the Jbeil highway to protest Noun’s...
