Aoun wants the judiciary to confront anyone obstructing justice in Salameh and port blast cases

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President Michel Aoun called on the judiciary on Tuesday to confront “anyone restraining its justice, at the central bank and the Beirut port explosion .”

Aoun issued a statement addressed to the judicial authority, in which reminded them that on June 9, the relevant judicial authorities “charged Central Bank Governor Riad Toufic Salameh and his partners with dangerous financial crimes, specifically the crimes of embezzlement, falsification, the use of forged documents, money laundering, illicit enrichment and tax evasion.”

“Ever since, the concerned judges have shared responsibility evasion without filing a lawsuit according to legal norms, which pushes me, from my position and role as the head of the state and under my constitutional oath, to call on the judiciary to fully liberate itself from any inducement or intimidation,” Aoun added.

“I call on the judiciary to confront anyone restraining its justice at the central bank as well as in the Beirut port blast case,” he said and added: “Rise up for your dignity and authority and do not fear those who have influence.”

Can Salameh be dismissed 

According to Article 19 of the Code of Money and Credit, the Governor of  Lebanon’s Central bank  can only be dismissed from his job for one or more of the following reasons:

  • Breaching the duties of his job. This can be decided in reference to the First Chapter of the Third Section of the Penal Code.
  • Violating the provisions of Section 20. (The governor must not be involved in any business other than his occupation at the Central Bank).
  • A serious  error in the conduct of business.
  • Based on all the above , Salameh should have been dismissed from his position as Central Bank Governor long time ago . According to financial analysts Salameh’s Ponzi type scheme got Lebanon where  it is today  and his personal business  is a gross violation  of the all the above laws  governing Central bank governors 

The only way to dismiss Salameh is by a  Council of ministers decree  which should also be signed by the president .

Since President Aoun and his allies have been running the government for over a decade  they could have fired him long time ago  according to financial analysts .

But neither Aoun nor the prime minister nor any of the ruling political elite are serious about getting  him fired  since they all benefited one way or the other from him being there while they all managed to transfer their wealth overseas.

When asked about dismissing Salameh , PM Najib Mikati responded by saying “ you don’t change officers in the midst of a battle “

The  Lebanese courts have  been trying to get Salameh to testify , they raided his office  and his home  but have not been able to get him  to court . The army  or the internal security  forces can get Salameh  arrested and brought to court anytime but  none  did anything   not because they can’t , it is all because all the politicians benefit from him being there and don’t want to upset the apple cart , according to analysts.

FILE – In this Aug. 4, 2021 file photo, a monument that represents justice stands in front of towering grain silos that were gutted in the massive August 2020 explosion at the port that killed at least 220 people , wounded over 7,000, destroyed a large section of the capital and left 300, 000 homeless in Beirut, Lebanon. Hezbollah and and its allies are trying to get rid of Judge Tarek Bitar who is probing the blast and were able to suspend his investigation several times . a move that outraged the relatives of the victims of the blast . Hezbollah is reportedly concerned over being exposed for its role in acquiring, storing and using of the ammonium nitrate that exploded at the port (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

Similarly in the case of the devastating port explosion  of Aug 4, 2020 , President Aoun knows very well who is obstructing justice , but since it is his ally , he only talks about this and does absolutely nothing  according to observers

The August 4, 2020 explosion that hit the seaport of Beirut  killed  at least 220 , Injured  at least 7000 after several hundred tons of ammonium nitrate exploded .

 2750 tons were stored there illegally  for nearly 7 years, reportedly for use by the Syrian regime in its barrel bombs. 

The shipment was reportedly confiscated by Badri Daher a close associate of President Aoun and his son-in-law Gebran Bassil , both are allied with the Syrian regime and Hezbollah . 

The shipment arrived at a time when Syria was surrendering its chemical weapons to a UN backed organization for destruction . Aoun officially knew about the Ammonium Nitrate 2 weeks before the explosion but did nothing about it . He , along with his Hezbollah allies refused calls for an international investigation but promised a local investigation that will bring the culprits to justice in less than a week but  over 2 years later    not one politician has been charged.

Judge Fadi Sawan who was initially in charge of the investigation was fired for charging Hezbollah backed Lebanese government officials with negligence over the explosion . Judge Tarek Bitar replaced Judge Sawan and Hezbollah has been for months trying to get him fired too , reportedly because it is concerned about exposing its role in supplying the Syrian government with the explosive chemical for use in its barrel bombs against civilians.

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5 responses to “Aoun wants the judiciary to confront anyone obstructing justice in Salameh and port blast cases”

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