BEIRUT: Lebanese Christian politician Samir Geagea said on Saturday that recent judicial decisions against his party were against the law.
Speaking at a news conference days after a judge charged him over deadly violence in Beirut in October, Geagea said that the judicial decisions were aimed at tarnishing the image of his Lebanese Forces (LF) party.
“The attempts to isolate, encircle, intimidate and abolish the Lebanese Forces continue to this day... And the latest attempt in this regard was judicial decisions that were born-dead because they are against every law,” he said, without mentioning the charge.
Seven people, all of them followers of the Iran-backed, heavily armed Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement, were killed in the Oct. 14 clashes near an old frontline of the 1975-90 civil war.
Geagea, a leading opponent of Hezbollah who has good ties with Saudi Arabia, was summoned to a hearing at military intelligence last October over the violence, but did not attend.
The Oct. 14 violence began as people were gathering for a protest called by Hezbollah against the judge investigating the 2020 Beirut port blast.
Hezbollah accused the LF of mounting an ambush to try to drag the country to a civil war.
Geagea has said the trouble began when supporters of the Shiite parties entered the Christian neighborhood of Ain Al-Remmaneh where they vandalized cars and four residents were wounded before a shot was fired.
Geagea was speaking at an event to launch the candidacy of an LF candidate who is running in a May parliamentary election.
Hezbollah and groups politically aligned to the movement won a majority of seats in parliament in the last election in 2018.
The Lebanese Forces media officer, Elie Kayrouz, said in a statement on Saturday that the charge is “political prejudice and an apparent slander against the Forces and Samir Geagea” ahead of the parliamentary election.
Lebanese Christian politician says judicial decisions against party unlawful
https://arab.news/59vme
Lebanese Christian politician says judicial decisions against party unlawful
- Geagea said that the judicial decisions were aimed at tarnishing the image of his Lebanese Forces party
- "The attempts to isolate, encircle, intimidate and abolish the Lebanese Forces continue to this day," he said, without mentioning the charge.
World Government Summit 2026 set to be largest ever
- 35 world leaders confirmed, says WGS’ Mohammad Al-Gergawi
- ‘Because the challenges of the future cannot be tackled alone’
DUBAI: This year’s World Government Summit will be the largest in the event’s history, said Mohammad Al-Gergawi, the WGS foundation’s chairman, on Friday.
Speaking at an event at the Museum of the Future, Al-Gergawi said 35 heads of state and government officials have confirmed their attendance, including Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and Switzerland’s President Guy Parmelin.
The WGS is an annual event held in Dubai which explores governance, and focuses on harnessing innovation and technology to solve universal challenges facing humanity.
Al-Gergawi said 24 side events would take place during the summit including forums on artificial intelligence, education, and sustainability.
Over 35 ministerial meetings are on the program including the Ministerial Roundtable with Arab Youth Ministers, Future of Tourism Roundtable, and Sustainable Development Goals Global Council Launch.
Al-Gergawi said four honors would be awarded during the summit, for best minister, most reformed government, sustainability, and best teacher.
He added that the world’s largest global gathering of Nobel laureates would take place during the summit.
“The World Laureate Summit aims to host a platform for laureates to present scientific solutions for problems governments are facing and will invite 50 laureates from various disciplines,” he explained.
Al-Gergawi said the WGS aims to play a key role in boosting collaboration between the private and public sectors.
“The success of the summit depends on the presence of governments, international organizations and the sector that shapes the future, the private sector,” he said.
“The success of the summit is directly linked to partnerships. Each partnership and initiative launched contributes to overcoming challenges in the future,” he added.
“The World Government Summit gathers everyone because the challenges of the future cannot be tackled alone,” Al-Gergawi said.
The summit takes place at Dubai’s Madinat Jumeirah from Feb. 3 to 5.
