Complainants against Naim Qassem demand his arrest

The authors of the criminal complaint against Hezbollah's deputy secretary-general, Naim Qassem, which was submitted last August to the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Jamal Hajjar, sent him a memorandum on Tuesday asking him to act on their petition.

Through this written request, Achraf Rifi, MP for Tripoli, along with other anti-Hezbollah parliamentarians George Okais, Camille Chamoun and Elie Khoury, as well as former MP Eddy Abillamaa and Elie Mahfoud — an attorney close to the Lebanese Forces and president of the Movement for Change — urged Judge Hajjar to begin examining their grievances.

These are particularly based on articles related to threats, incitement to civil war, stoking sectarian tensions and rebellion against the state. The request is currently with the public prosecutor's office registry, as Judge Hajjar was absent from his office when it was filed.

The petitioners have repeatedly attempted to follow up on their case, but say they have received no response. As early as last September, they asserted that the complaint was still with the head of the prosecution and had not been forwarded to the judicial police to open an investigation.

Contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, Mahfoud stated that the complainants have requested that the written note be annexed to the original complaint. He emphasized that recent "developments" on the Lebanese scene, as well as Qassem’s speeches and his "behavior," are dragging Lebanon into an increasingly "disastrous" situation. Mahfoud also said that the authors of the complaint have called for the prosecution of the Hezbollah deputy leader and the issuing of an arrest warrant against him.

At the Justice Ministry

Before submitting their memorandum at the Justice Palace, the petitioners, accompanied by Joseph Jbeily, a member of the executive committee of the Lebanese Forces, went to the Justice Ministry, where they met with Justice Minister Adel Nassar for two hours.

The latter was urged to use the power given him by Article 14 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows him to ask the prosecution to take action regarding "offenses he becomes aware of in the course of his duties."

"The meeting took place in a positive atmosphere," Mahfoud said, welcoming the steps taken by Nassar and the government in general, which has "classified Hezbollah’s military and security activities outside the legal framework, in a bid to restore full Lebanese state authority over its territory."

After the meeting, Nassar’s visitors issued a statement calling for these decisions to be implemented and "the application of the law to anyone who violates it ... or usurps the exclusive right of the state to declare war and peace."