Former BDL governor Riad Salameh. (Credit: Archive photo Joseph Eid/AFP)
BEIRUT — Less than 24 hours after returning to Roumieh prison from Dahr el-Bachek Governmental Hospital on Tuesday, former Banque du Liban (BDL) governor Riad Salameh was taken back to the hospital on Wednesday.
Salameh had been placed under arrest on Aug. 3 and was transferred to Roumieh on Tuesday.
The move was ordered by Court of Cassation Public Prosecutor Ahmad Rami Hajj after Salameh stopped eating and taking his medication in protest of his detention.
According to L’Orient-Le Jour, his doctors said he needed continuous medical supervision, particularly to prevent complications from interrupting his treatment. Consequently, Hajj ordered his return to Dahr el-Bachek Hospital.
Salameh’s return to Roumieh prison was ordered Tuesday after Judge Hajj received a medical report from a panel of doctors he had appointed on Aug. 13.
The panel examined Salameh after he requested to be transferred from Dahr el-Bachek Hospital to Bhannes Hospital (Centre Hospitalier de Bhannes). Several days later, the doctors concluded that his condition did not require hospitalization and that his medical needs could be managed in prison.
Hajj therefore ordered Salameh’s return to Roumieh. The former governor then stopped eating and taking his medication, causing his health to deteriorate. His doctors subsequently recommended continuous medical supervision, prompting Hajj to order his transfer back to Dahr el-Bashek.
Salameh was initially subject to a warrant issued by Hajj after he failed to appear for a July 30 hearing. He was located at Bhannes Hospital the following day and taken into custody.
On Aug. 12, Investigating Judge Sheherazade Nasser, who took over his case, issued an arrest warrant against him. The case concerns alleged financial transactions involving Bank Audi, for which former Bank Audi CEO Samir Hanna is also being prosecuted.
Hanna was due to appear before Nasser on Thursday, but the hearing was postponed because he had not been notified, according to a judicial source.
