Former governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, during an interview with AFP in December 2021, when he was still head of the institution. (Photo: AFP)
The public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj, condemned the attempts by former Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank) governor Riad Salameh, who was arrested Friday at Bhannès Hospital, 'to intentionally and deliberately place himself in a critical health condition' by his "repeated refusal to take his medication," according to a statement published Monday evening. This is the judge’s first public statement since he ordered Salameh’s detention. Salameh, who has since been incarcerated at Roumieh Prison as of Saturday, had threatened to stop eating and taking his medication. On Monday, the former governor was transferred to Dahr al-Bashek Governmental Hospital.
This latest transfer, to "a private room fully equipped with all necessary medical devices," was carried out "to allow him to undergo the required medical examinations and to ensure the stability of his health condition, due to his refusal since [Monday] morning to eat or to take the medication for hypertension he is supposed to take," the prosecutor wrote. "However, he continued to refuse to take his treatment," he added. On Monday, Salameh supposedly "signed a waiver of responsibility after the attending physician explained to him that his refusal to take his medication could put his life at risk," before "going back on his decision." According to a Monday report, he allegedly "finally agreed to follow his treatment and take his medications."
‘Stable’ medical condition
The prosecutor recounted in detail the initial transfers of the detainee. A report prepared by a doctor on Saturday "concluded that it was possible for him to leave Bhannès Hospital, provided that he be placed in Roumieh Prison in a ward allowing for monitoring of his blood pressure, administration of his medication, and use of an oxygen machine." The first transfer decision was "motivated by the fact that Bhannès Hospital is not a detention facility .. and the medical report concluded that continued hospitalization was no longer necessary." The prosecutor also clarified that his attending physician, Alexandre Khoury, had been authorized as of Friday to visit the detention center "to verify the medications handed to the medical team from the Internal Security Forces," which is responsible for administering care inside the cell.
At Roumieh, Salameh "decided to refuse to take his medications, especially the pills for the chronic hypertension he suffers from, in addition to refusing to eat," the prosecutor wrote. On Sunday, he was examined by his two doctors, Riad Sarkis and Alexandre Khoury. "Despite Riad Salameh’s continued refusal to take his treatment,' the prosecutor wrote, he 'instructed the head of the medical center to assign a nurse specifically dedicated to round-the-clock, 24/7 medical monitoring of the detainee Salameh, to ensure the stability of his health condition, particularly his blood pressure." On Sunday evening, his condition was "stable," and "did not require hospitalization." At 9 p.m., Salameh "ate a meal, after having taken two tablets of his treatment at 8:50 p.m. and then at 9:30 p.m.," Ahmad Rami al-Hajj specified.
The judge stated he was "sharing this medical information ... with the Lebanese public, to prevent any misinterpretation or inaccurate statements, and to reaffirm the constant concern to preserve the physical integrity of every detainee, and to provide them with all medical care and appropriate treatment."
Salameh was arrested the day after a hearing scheduled for July 30, at which he did not appear, as part of an investigation opened following a complaint filed by the current BDL governor, Karim Souhaid. The complaint concerns alleged questionable transactions conducted during Salameh’s long tenure as central bank governor, from 1993 to 2023. Governor of the BDL from 1993 to July 2023 and the subject of multiple corruption cases in Lebanon and abroad, 76-year-old Salameh has always denied any wrongdoing. The prosecutor’s office considered that he had refused to appear. Security forces had been unable to locate him at his various residences.
Already under prosecution in Lebanon for the alleged embezzlement of BDL funds and targeted since 2023 by an international arrest warrant issued by the French judiciary, Salameh had been imprisoned in Lebanon for a year before being released on bail. According to those close to him, his health has deteriorated significantly since then.
