Lebanese public prosecutor Ghada Aoun leaves the Justice Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on May 4, 2023. (Credit: Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)
After being dismissed by the disciplinary council of magistrates on Thursday, the public prosecutor at the Mount Lebanon Court of Appeal, Ghada Aoun, on Sunday called for the liberation of the judiciary while criticizing the "corrupt ruling class" in Lebanon.
"Did I make a mistake when I opened the file regarding the casino and discovered waste, theft, bribery of some journalists and other people? Was I wrong when I opened the file on corruption in the vehicle registration center? Was I wrong when I opened the file on adulterated fuel and discovered theft? Was I wrong when I called for the application of the law on the lifting of banking secrecy?" the magistrate asked in a series of tweets recalling the various legal cases she has dealt with in recent years.
Aoun also mentioned the money transfer company Mecattaf, which she prosecuted in August 2021 on suspicion of money laundering.
"Was I wrong when I found out that Mecattaf company transferred $4 billion abroad to a party whose identity is unknown?" she wrote.
She also referred to the prosecution of Banque du Liban's governor, Riad Salameh, who is currently being investigated in Lebanon and internationally for suspected corruption, as well as a case involving subsidized loans from which current caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is accused of benefiting.
"Did I make a mistake when I opened the Salameh and the real estate loans and discovered the waste, the abuse of power, the falsification of the BDL budgets and the transfer of $9 billion to banks to transfer them abroad, in the middle of the crisis? Was I wrong in looking at the complaints of depositors whose money evaporated?" she continued in her tweets.
"I may have been wrong on one point only: I did not realize the true size of the corrupt ruling class I was facing," Aoun added.
According to her, "this political class would not have succeeded if it was not protected by someone in the judiciary." However, she stopped short of making any more specific allegations of internal judiciary corruption.
"Free the judiciary," Aoun concluded.
After being removed from office on Thursday, Aoun appealed the decision to the Higher Judicial Disciplinary Commission, chaired by Judge Souhail Abboud, who is also the president of the Higher Judicial Council.
While this appeal is ongoing, the prosecutor can continue her work, as it effectively suspends the decision to dismiss her. There is no legal deadline for the commission to publish its verdict.
Supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement, to which Aoun is considered close, have called for a sit-in in solidarity with the judge on Sunday at 6 p.m. in front of Abboud's home.