12/10/2010 Two days after Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar “released” his so-called “technical report” concerning the false witnesses issue, a new “debate” was open in the country…
The report, which sought to be technical by confirming that the false witnesses issue falls within the jurisdiction of the Lebanese judiciary, fell in the politics game by claiming that the Justice Council lacks authority to look into the false witnesses' issue since its role “is restricted to crimes committed against state security, spying activities, murders that relate to international law and undermining the state's authority.”
While the opposition read “contradictions” in the report, the loyalty insisted the report is transparent and technical. These preliminary conclusions seemed to be enough to draw the scenario of “tense discussions” within the cabinet, discussions that would most probably end with the “postponement” perhaps to prevent a serious division of the eve of the exceptional visit by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the country.
Yet, the opposition met on the eve of the cabinet session at Speaker Nabih Berri's mansion in Ain el-Tineh to discuss the issue of false witnesses and coordinate a united stance. No statement was made following the late Monday meeting which was attended by opposition ministers as well as Berri, his advisor MP Ali Hasan Khalil and Hezbollah Secretary General political advisor Hajj Hussein Khalil.
Meanwhile, legal experts told Al-Manar website that the report of the Justice Minister was political per excellence, explaining that the Lebanese Forces Minister sought, through his report, to satisfy the two main political blocs in the country, and therefore fell in the game of politics at the expense of justice.
According to the experts, the main weakness in the report is marked by the contradictions between the logic and the conclusion in relation to the Justice Council authority. While the report states that the mentioned council’s role is restricted to crimes committed against state security, spying activities, murders that relate to international law and undermining the state's authority, it concludes that it has no authority to look into the false witnesses’ issue.
The experts noted that the Justice Minister has no right to take the final decision concerning this matter, pointing out that such a decision should be taken by the whole government. They also wondered about the reasons that pushed the minister to rule out that the false testimonies were not a crime against state security or do not undermine the state’s authority.
The experts raised in this context a series of question: Who said that the crime of misleading the investigation in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri did not undermine the state’s authority by hurting the Lebanese-Syrian relations? Who said that it didn’t undermine the state’s authority when it caused the detention of four innocent officers without any charge? Who said that it didn’t seek to sow strife and create sedition among Lebanese?
“The report of Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar is more political than legal and judicial,” the former head of the State Shura Youssef Saadallah Khoury told Al-Manar website. “Instead of resolving the problem, it comes to intensify it and even create a new and bigger debate,” he noted.
According to Khoury, Najjar’s report has politicized the crisis instead of doing the opposite. He found as strange the conclusion made by Najjar, giving the judiciary the option to delay the decision until the verdict is released by the Special Tribunal of Lebanon.
“Despite the fact that Minister Najjar is a respectful legal expert, but his report didn’t satisfy me at all,” the prominent expert told Al-Manar, adding that the international tribunal was illegal and unconstitutional.
For her part, lawyer May Khansa told Al-Manar website that the law allows the detention of false witnesses right after giving false witnesses, criticizing the calls to wait for the final verdict before making such choices. “It’s impossible to release a final verdict built on false witnesses,” she said, stressing that the judge is obliged to arrest the false witnesses once he’s convinced he was lying.
The false witnesses issue seems to be at the top of all concerns in Lebanon nowadays. While observers believe the crisis would be postponed until Ahmadinejad’s visit to the country ends, all eyes are directed to the post-visit stage. What would happen?!
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