Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at a government meeting in the Grand Serail on June 13, 2023. (Credit: Nabil Ismail)
BEIRUT — At a "special" meeting held at the Grand Serail on Tuesday, Najib Mikati's caretaker government approved the appointment, made by caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury, of the two French lawyers assigned to defend Lebanon's interests in France in the case of Banque du Liban (BDL) governor Riad Salameh, Mikati's advisor Fares Gemayel confirmed to L'Orient-Le Jour.
The appointment of the two renowned French criminal lawyers, Emmanuel Daoud and Pascal Beauvais, had caused controversy in Lebanon, with the government initially refusing the appointments on the grounds that lawyer Daoud was linked to an organization "suspected of promoting Zionist ideas." This information was denied by Khoury.
Emmanuel Daoud and Pascal Beauvais are to assist the Head of State Legal Affairs in the case of the assets seized in France from Salameh.
Salameh is the target of several investigations in Lebanon and Europe questioning how he built up a wealth of real estate assets. He is the subject of two Interpol red notices which followed the international arrest warrants issued by the French and German courts. Salameh denies the accusations made against him.
Reacting to the government's decision on Tuesday, a senior judicial source close to the case explained to L'Orient-Le Jour that "only the Head of State Legal Affairs, Helene Iskandar, can choose the lawyers responsible for following up this case."
"The Minister of Justice had signed the contracts of these lawyers, the approval of the Council of Ministers was missing," this source continued, before welcoming the government's decision.
"A French court is expected to rule on the seizure of Salameh’s assets on July 4. If this seizure is upheld, Lebanon could benefit from it," added the source.
Mikati, who initially refused the appointment of these lawyers and demanded that the Minister of Justice propose other names, finally agreed to endorse their appointment, even in the absence of Khoury, a close associate of the Free Patriotic Movement, and former President Michel Aoun. Khoury, like other Aounist ministers, boycotted caretaker cabinet meetings during presidential vacancies.
"I had decided not to discuss certain files if the ministers concerned were not present [at government meetings], but I met [on Monday] with the Minister of Justice and he explained to me the details of the file on the lawyers charged with defending Lebanon. I am now convinced of the need to raise this issue in the Council of Ministers, even if the minister concerned does not attend the meeting," explained Mikati in a speech at the start of the session.
The return of Syrian refugees
The Mikati government also discussed the issue of Syrian refugees on Tuesday. In a statement issued at the end of the meeting, the cabinet declared itself in favor of "a dignified return of the displaced, in accordance with international decisions and what this implies in terms of coordination with the Syrian state and the Arab League."
Speaking at the end of the session, the caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Makari, confirmed to the journalists present that a Lebanese delegation would soon travel to Syria to discuss the refugee issue. He said however that the precise date of the visit had still not been set. He also announced that Lebanon would be taking part in the 7th Brussels Conference for Syria on June 15 and revealed that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had agreed to provide its data on Syrian refugees to the Lebanese authorities.
At the beginning of June, Mikati already stated that his government planned to form a ministerial delegation that would be sent to Damascus, to discuss the issue of Syrian refugees.
The issue of Syrian refugees regularly causes a stir in Lebanon. The authorities have recently insisted on the need to repatriate them, at a time when the country is going through the worst economic crisis in its modern history. But human rights groups have warned that returning to Syria remains dangerous for many refugees, given the ongoing fighting, state torture and enforced disappearances.
