Accused of corruption, a judge invokes procedural exceptions

As part of an investigation into alleged bribes involving two judges during the exercise of their duties, investigative judge Pierre Francis, assigned to the case by the President of the Higher Judicial Council Souheil Abboud, held a hearing on Monday to question Judge O.L., who served as president of the indictment chamber, first president of the Bekaa Court of Appeal and was a HJC member.

However, as permitted by law, the summoned judge invoked procedural exceptions to challenge what he perceived as irregularities in the judicial proceedings against him. Since Judge Francis rejected his request during Monday’s hearing, O.L. immediately filed an appeal before the ad-hoc indictment chamber that Abboud had appointed as part of the proceedings to prosecute judges.

O.L. is implicated in the same case for which, I.Z., also a judge, was arrested on March 17. The top prosecution’s office had referred the case to Judge Francis after a preliminary investigation. The case is based on a complaint filed by the HJC, which in turn is based on investigations conducted by the Judicial Inspection Authority in 2019. As part of this process, O.L. was subject to disciplinary sanctions.

As for former judge I.Z., who is currently detained at the headquarters of the General Directorate of the Internal Security Forces (ISF) in Achrafieh, they applied for release, which Judge Francis rejected on Friday. It is unlikely that the latter will approve this application anytime soon, as the allegations against I.Z. are linked to those against O.L., who has yet to be questioned, a judicial source told L’Orient-Le Jour.

This article was originally published in French in L’Orient-Le Jour. It was translated by Joelle El-Khoury.