A view of the Hall of Lost Steps at the Beirut Justice Palace. (Credit: Claude Assaf/L'Orient-Le Jour)
BEIRUT — Several anti-Hezbollah MPs and political figures filed a complaint Wednesday against Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem over one of his speeches in which he threatened a "confrontation" if the government proceeded with its plan to disarm the party.
Outside Beirut’s Justice Palace, after the complaint was submitted to the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, lawyer Elie Mahfoud, an ally of the Lebanese Forces, said the case is a “direct complaint” in which the plaintiffs registered as “civil parties.”
He told L’Orient-Le Jour that, unlike a judicial denunciation, “the public prosecutor’s office does not have the discretion to dismiss it.”
Need the context?
Naim Qassem criticizes disarmament government decision, warns of Israeli expansion
Tripoli MP Ashraf Rifi, a vocal Hezbollah critic, said he responded “with a constitutional plan to the irresponsible and anti-patriotic remarks of Naim Qassem, to make it clear that it is the state that unites us, while the parallel militia has divided us.” He added: “Iran’s role in the region is over.”
LF MP Georges Okais said, “Any political dispute that leaves the legal framework must be settled by the courts.” He added that he had “great confidence in the judiciary” and hoped it would “follow its course and guarantee freedoms and civil peace.”
The complaint, a copy of which L’OLJ reviewed, cites Qassem’s controversial speech in which he raised the possibility of a battle reminiscent of Karbala, the 680 clash between Imam Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Mohammad, and the Umayyad caliph Yazid’s forces.
Army and discord
The complaint also accuses Qassem of threatening “demonstrations in the streets, which will spread across Lebanon and go as far as the U.S. Embassy.” In his remarks, Qassem warned: “If these demonstrations are imposed on us, then we will respond,” blaming the government for any “discord” or “destruction” that might follow.
According to the plaintiffs, his speech included “an insinuation against the Lebanese Army and a threat of confrontation with it,” when he urged the government “not to draw the army into internal discord,” insisting that “there is no possible life for Lebanon if you try to confront and eliminate us.”
The plaintiffs said his comments amounted to “a threat to Lebanon’s internal security and a flagrant defiance of the government’s decisions” made at Cabinet meetings on Aug. 5 and 7, 2025. They also cited the ministerial statement, which specifies that carrying weapons is reserved exclusively for state security forces.
The complaint points to Article 303 of the Penal Code, which punishes acts intended to incite armed insurrection, and Article 307, which criminalizes forming or equipping armed groups. It also cites Article 65 of the Constitution, which assigns decisions of war and peace to the Cabinet.
Qassem’s statements, the plaintiffs argue, represent “an explicit and public threat to substitute himself for the Lebanese state by arrogating the right to decide to wage war at [Hezbollah’s] discretion.” They described this as “a full-fledged coup against Lebanese legitimacy and state institutions, as well as a threat to the life and security of all Lebanese.”
The complaint also highlighted the “sectarian” nature of Qassem’s statements, arguing they could “fuel sectarian tensions.” The Penal Code (Articles 295 and 317) punishes such offenses with imprisonment.
The plaintiffs further said Qassem’s remarks are already being put into practice through “a mobilization that includes the display of threatening billboards on public property on the Beirut airport road.” Some of the billboards show Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with slogans such as: “At the disposal of your toe,” “We will cut off the hand that reaches for our weapons,” and “Ready, we are coming to Al-Quds.”
This is not the first legal action against Qassem. On July 9, activists and journalists opposed to Hezbollah filed a request for a judicial inquiry against him with Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Jamal Hajjar.
Rubio condemns Iran's 'outrageous' attacks on Kuwait
