Lawyer questioned in complaint against Wiam Wahhab in Syria

As part of the lawsuit brought in Syria against former Lebanese minister Wiam Wahhab, a Lebanese Druze figure close to former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, the judiciary of the new regime in Damascus summoned the plaintiff, Syrian lawyer Bassel Said Maneh, on Wednesday to hear his testimony.

According to several local and Syrian media outlets, the charges against Wahhab involve "the dissemination of falsehoods that undermine the prestige of the [Syrian] state, incitement to sectarian violence, the express intent to overthrow the head of state and inciting armed sedition online."

During heavy clashes last July between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze residents in the southern Syrian region of Sweida, the former minister Wahhab announced the creation of a group called the "Army of Tawhid," named after his political party, which he said was intended to establish "an independent resistance to defend the Druze," whom he described as victims of a conflict orchestrated by the new Syrian authorities.

On July 23, Wahhab became the subject of a request for a judicial investigation in Lebanon, citing crimes "that threaten national security and civil peace." Another trial opened in Syria before the fifth investigating judge, specializing in cybercrime, while Wahhab praised Israeli strikes against the country during this episode of violence.