Sign showing the entrance of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council in Beirut. (Credit: NNA)
The Higher Shiite Council denounced, on Saturday, the "national silence" in the face of the "lies and slander" directed at it, after a significant sum of $2.5 million in cash, allegedly intended for Hezbollah, was confiscated on Feb. 28 by Lebanese customs at Beirut airport.
Several accusations were then directed at the religious institution, known for its closeness to the party, after it claimed to be the recipient of this money transfer, brought into Lebanon by a man arriving from Turkey. 'The Higher Shiite Council deplored the "national and legal silence in the face of these calumnies. A silence that gives the public the impression that the council has become an easy target, one that can be attacked and tarnished with impunity," stated the highest religious authority of the Shiite community in Lebanon in a statement published by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
This communication from the religious institution, which had remained silent on the matter until now, comes as a press conference is reportedly planned for next Monday to "initiate legal action" against it. "Some suspicious organizations have called for legal action against the CSC for violations related to the abandonment of its control and financial functions, and participation in the crime of money laundering," the statement said.
'The cup is full'
The council requested at the end of February that the judiciary recover this sum, which it claimed was intended for it, stating that it was donations received from organizations abroad. "The Higher Shiite Islamic Council, which has long refrained from reacting to these calumnies, affirms that it is purer, more upright, and more honorable than these fallen individuals who target it with their lies," it stated.
The statement also said that the council now intends to take legal action to "prosecute those who insult a community that has offered Lebanon its best sons and paid a heavy tribute for the homeland," referring to the many Lebanese Shiites killed during the recent war between Israel and Hezbollah, having caused more than 4,000 deaths in Lebanon. "All available means will be used to respond to this poisonous campaign, because the cup is full," it stated.
'Drugs, money laundering...'
Virulent attacks have been launched against the council since this seizure at the airport at the end of February. Three consistent sources confirmed to Reuters that the $2.5 million in cash that was seized was destined for Hezbollah, which the apprehended traveler denied.
Some questioned the origin of such a sum, including the opposition MP Waddah Sadek on the set of Voice of Lebanon: "If this money is theirs (the Higher Shiite Council), it must enter Lebanon legally, not in cash. What is its source? Who says that this sum does not come from money laundering, drugs, rape, the sale of children, the sale of human organs?" he stated, provoking many reactions on social media.
The financial situation for Hezbollah has deteriorated significantly after 13 months of war against Israel and the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria, cutting the direct supply line between Tehran and Lebanon.
Israel had, on several occasions, accused the party of using Lebanon's only airport to receive weapons and money from Iran. On Feb. 17, planes from Tehran were banned from landing in Beirut before a suspension of flights between the two countries was pronounced for several days. These bans prompted demonstrations by Hezbollah supporters, who blocked the road leading to the airport, near the southern suburbs of the capital.
This article was originally published in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.