Lawyer and activist Rami Olleik, founder of Mouttahidoun, speaks during a demonstration before the courthouse in Beirut in 2022. (Credit: Marie-Jo Sader/Archives/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanese lawyer and activist Rami Ollaik, founder of the high-profile Mouttahidoun group that advocates for the rights of depositors wronged by Lebanese banks, was involved in an altercation on Monday with members of General Security (GS) at Beirut International Airport upon returning from a trip. Ollaik was detained for several hours following the incident, which a bystander captured on video.
Contacted for comment, Ollaik confirmed that the incident had indeed taken place and indicated that he would be issuing a formal statement later in the day.
Interviewed by OLJ, the lawyer explained that a travel ban against him had been issued by Prosecutor General Ziad Abou Haidar after he missed a court hearing the week prior. The case was regarding a lawsuit filed against him by the Bar Association, — which disbarred him — for "identity theft."
According to Ollaik, the summons only reached him last Thursday, when he was already in France. Two of Mouttahidoun's lawyers went to see the judge to explain the reason for his absence, where they were "treated with absolute disrespect," Ollaik said.They were asked to wait for several hours in front of the judge's office, and eventually left, Ollaik explained.
Ollaik says the measures against him are aimed at pressuring him to give up efforts undertaken in France "in the interest of Lebanese depositors." He stated his intention to take swift legal action to recover his passport and have the travel ban overturned. He also mentioned that he had sent a letter to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denouncing the seizure of his passport.
'Thuggish behavior'
A video circulating on Instagram shows Ollaik at the airport's passport control area, clashing with SG officers who were preventing him from proceeding for reasons he deemed unjustified.
"This thuggish behavior just won't do. You abandon the people who have been robbed and you protect the corrupt ... that's enough!" Ollaik shouted. "I know what's going on: this is typical thuggish behavior. My name is Rami Ollaik and I'm the one who fights corruption the most," he added, before loudly asserting that it was for this reason that the members of General Security were preventing him from passing. Tensions escalated as as GS officer attempted to prevent the person filming from continuing to do so, before Ollaik was taken away from the camera's view.
Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, a General Security source confirmed that Ollaik is subject to an arrest warrant and a travel ban issued by the Lebanese judiciary.
Ollaik alleged that he was denied medical attention despite feeling unwell and that his family was not informed of his whereabouts.
The lawyer has a strong presence in the media, urging action be taken against banks in the fallout from the Lebanese financial crisis that began in 2019 and continues to plague the country to this day. Financial institutions illegally restrict depositors' access to their funds.
Ollaik has also founded a complementary group to Mouttahidoun called The Federation of Depositors.
This article was originally published in French on L'Orient-Le Jour.