The Beirut Palace of Justice. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L'Orient-Le Jour)
After being the target last October of a complaint for sectarian divisions filed by Sheikh Ali Khatib, vice-president of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council, Mohammad Barakat, founder of the independent Shiite collective "Nahwa al-Inqaz" (Towards Salvation), created in December 2024, has himself taken legal action against the religious dignitary. He thus submitted a complaint to the Public Prosecution on Tuesday, asking for the initiation of a judicial inquiry in which he accuses Sheikh Khatib, notably, of "embezzlement of public funds and illegally residing in a property.”
The journalist and activist's move comes four days after a speech by Hezbollah's Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, in which he claims that "the discordant voices that falsely and aggressively accuse the vice-president of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council and the Council must be brought to justice."
Barakat was summoned last November by top Prosecutor Jamal Hajjar, based on Sheikh Khatib's complaint, following remarks made by the activist during a television broadcast on the channel Al-Jadeed, on Oct. 28, 2024, which Khatib perceived as defamatory. During his intervention, Barakat claimed that the latter had restored four buildings in Hazmiyeh (Mount Lebanon), accusing him of "keeping them for his disposal," while they can accommodate "200 families." His accusations were made in the context of the war between Hezbollah and Israel, between October 2023 and November 2024, which forced thousands of Lebanese to flee southern Lebanon. Following his interrogation, Judge Hajjar released him on bail.
'Unprecedented situation'
In his judicial complaint filed on Tuesday, Barakat again accused Sheikh Khatib of "settling in the premises of the Higher Shiite Islamic Council in Hazmieh," considering such an act as "illegal" because "it belongs to the Shiite wakf, donated to the Shiite community by Imam Moussa al-Sadr." "This property is reserved for public interest and investment, and not intended for the private residential use of Sheikh Ali Khatib or any other person," the activist told L'Orient-Le Jour. "Its use as personal housing constitutes a violation of religious, legal and moral laws," he argued, describing this situation as "unprecedented in Lebanon or any other religious community."
L'Orient-Le Jour unsuccessfully tried to reach a source close to the Higher Shiite Islamic Council. In response to Barakat's accusations last October, that same source told our newspaper that it was officials of the religious institution who asked Sheikh Khatib, whose home was in a bombed area of the southern suburbs of Beirut during the recent war, to move into an apartment belonging to the wakf. On this point, Barakat replied that such a request "does not alter the unlawful nature of residing in the premises."
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
