A voter in a polling station in Beirut, on May 18, 2025. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine / L'Orient Today.)
State Security Service has re-arrested Hermel's governor, Talal Kataya, in north Bekaa, on Tuesday as part of an investigation into the disappearance of municipal election documents. This information was confirmed by two security sources to our correspondent in Bekaa.
The arrest was executed by a State Security patrol in Baalbeck-Hermel, following orders from the Bekaa public prosecutor's office.
Previously, on Saturday, a day before local elections on Sunday in Bekaa and the Baalbeck-Hermel governorate, the State Security Service briefly detained Hermel's governor over allegations of a "disappearance" of permits granted to delegates from a rival list opposed to the one backed by the Shiite duo. This list, whose permits "disappeared," is supported by Ali Sabri Hamadeh, the son of a well-known local politician.
At the request of Bekaa's Attorney General Mounif Barakat, Governor Kataya was released "to ensure the smooth running of the electoral process."
An unprecedented incident, the arrest of such a high-ranking official over electoral corruption, favoring lists from the Shiite duo in one of their strongholds, is a remarkable development.