BEIRUT: Lebanon’s top prosecutor Tuesday cleared a Syrian-flagged ship for release after it was seized over allegations by Kyiv’s embassy in Beirut that it carried flour and barley stolen from Ukraine, an official said.
Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat allowed the Laodicea, which docked in the northern port city of Tripoli last week, to set sail after investigations failed to prove it carried stolen goods, a judicial official told AFP.
“Preliminary investigations... did not reveal the existence of a criminal offense, or that the goods were stolen,” the official said on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine’s embassy in Lebanon had claimed that the grain aboard the ship was loaded from a region occupied by Russian forces and said it presented Lebanese authorities with proof that the merchandise was stolen.
Ukraine has repeatedly accused Moscow’s forces of ransacking its grain warehouses since Russia invaded the country in late February.
On Saturday, Oueidat ordered the vessel’s seizure and instructed police to investigate.
The prosecutor found that the grain aboard the vessel belonged to a Syrian merchant, the judicial official said.
“The Syrian national whose name is on the shipment from Ukraine came in for investigation and presented the papers and documents that prove his ownership,” the official said on Tuesday.
Ukraine, one of the world’s largest grain exporters, has this week tentatively resumed grain exports following a UN-backed deal.
A Sierra Leone-registered ship, Razoni, set sail from Odessa port for Lebanon Monday under an accord brokered by Turkey and the United Nations that seeks to release millions of tons of trapped Ukrainian produce to world markets and curb a global food crisis.
The Marine Traffic website showed the vessel — which is carrying 26,000 tons of maize — off the coast of Bulgaria by 0900 GMT on Tuesday.
Lebanon, which is struggling with one of the world’s worst financial crises, is facing a particularly acute bread shortage.
Lebanon prosecutor allows departure of ship accused by Ukraine of stealing grain
https://arab.news/w4dtk
Lebanon prosecutor allows departure of ship accused by Ukraine of stealing grain
- Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat allowed the Laodicea to set sail after investigations failed to prove it carried stolen goods
- “Preliminary investigations... did not reveal the existence of a criminal offense, or that the goods were stolen”
Iranian FM slams WEF’s double standards after revoking his invite, but keeping Israeli President’s
DUBAI: Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticised the World Economic Forum (WEF) for rescinding his invitation to the annual meeting in Davos amid his government’s harsh crackdown on nationwide protests, accusing the forum of succumbing to Western pressure and applying “blatant double standards.”
The WEF confirmed that Araghchi will not attend this year’s summit, running until Jan. 23, saying that “although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year.”
In a series of posts on X, Araghchi rejected the decision, claiming his appearance was cancelled “on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its U.S.‑based proxies and apologists.”
The Iranian minister criticised what he called the WEF’s “blatant double standards” for keeping an invitation open to Israel’s president despite ongoing allegations of civilian deaths in Gaza. He also referenced Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s participation in last year’s forum in Davos in January 2024 despite facing charges of genocide at the International Criminal Court.
“If WEF wants to feign a supposedly ‘moral’ stance, that is its prerogative. But it should at least be consistent about it,” Araghchi wrote, arguing that the decision exposed a “moral depravity and intellectual bankruptcy.”
