Six-month prison sentence for three Lebanese customs officials

BEIRUT — The Beirut Criminal Court, presided over by Judge Samir Akiki, has issued a ruling regarding three customs officials at the Port of Beirut: Said Barraj, Wahib Bou Chahine, and Ali Abou Khachfeh. The three are sentenced to six months imprisonment and a fine of one billion Lebanese lira, for taking bribes in the course of their duties.

The recent judicial decision is based on Article 364 of the Penal Code, which states that "any civil servant who takes a private interest in an operation of the administration to which he is attached shall be punished by three months to two years' imprisonment and a fine." The decision is subject to appeal.

The offenses, which reportedly date back to 2014, were pointed out during a television program broadcast in April 2015 on the Al-Jadeed channel, says a judicial source, contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour. This denunciation, which was documented on video, was adequate enough to then be presented to the Cassation Prosecutor's Office.

Asked why the judgment was only handed down recently, nine years after the events, the judicial source points out that the case followed a normal process, passing through the examining magistrate and the Beirut Indictment Chamber, before being referred to the Criminal Court. Further still, the judicial process was somewhat slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic, adds the same source.

Two other civil servants who were accused in the information memo were not punished, for lack of evidence.