UFL in a Sit-in at the Justice Palace.. Serious Judicial Scandals to Undermine the Judicial Investigation about Seaport Explosion..

Yesterday, Thursday, August 27, 2020, UFL carried out in a sit-in at the Justice Palace in Beirut, where the circumstances and delinquencies of the seaport explosion lawsuit were explained along with a serious development in terms of judicial follow-up. Attorney Rami Ollaik of United For Lebanon (UFL) had a speech in which he said:

"Why are we standing here today? We just left the office of the First Investigating Judge in Beirut without receiving a written decision or a brief, according to what the law clearly dictates.

Yes, all of this is taking place after Judge Charbel Abi Samra refused to register the filed lawsuit of UFL regarding the seaport explosion, and his refusal to grant the plaintiffs any written answer even with a duly filing request for a court statement, and despite the intervention of the Head of the Higher Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Abboud, to stop this serious and scandalous violation to the law more than two weeks after the date of duly filing the lawsuit.

What does that mean? It means that, unfortunately, "each is on their own" like with many judges, remaining unchecked or deterred. It means a will or decision to undermine the credibility of the Judicial Council by restricting investigations to minor perpetrators. It means that the blood of the victims and the injured, the tears and the terror of the children and the innocent are not worth anything in view of the corrupt people in power clinging to their posts, supported by judges who pledged themselves as an insurance company against everything that makes them playing the role for which they took the oath, that is, to fulfil the call for truth and justice, especially in holding accountable the high-rank corrupt people who brought the country with their criminality to what it has become.

In contrast, UFL attorneys took upon themselves and on behalf of all the Lebanese people playing the role that everyone failed to do despite the abundance of talk and muscle-showing, and for this purpose they carried the cross and the banner of Imam Hussein for reform, and we are in the memory of His Ashura. This is accomplished by pressing charges against 28 high-ranking officials, including the heads of the Judicial Security Hierarchy, starting with the current and previous Heads of Government, passing through the current and former ministers of public works and finance, and the leaders of the security and military services, from public security, state security, the army and intelligence services, to judges headed by the State Prosecutor General and Government Commissioner to the Military Court, current and former, and ending with the customs  and seaport directors, and others. The allegation was made impartially and professionally and without any political, factional or personal considerations. Yes, Lebanon only, and only for Lebanon's sake.

Regarding the facts and after a strenuous process the lawsuit took before the First Investigating Judge in Beirut, it returned in a parallel line to the Judicial Council as Lawsuit No. 1 on Wednesday 26 August 2020, and therefore the actual lawsuit is the first and only one before the Judicial Investigator, and thus UFL as plaintiffs became a legal party with a role in the investigations and the trial before the Judicial Council. This has taken place after the State Public Prosecution's allegation before said Council occurred in a manner that does not rise to the minimum level of real accountability that all Lebanese aspire to, unfortunately; holding minor perpetrators accountable while letting off their senior supervisors, remaining insufficient and way below the level of criminal corruption that we all wish to see an end to.

UFL attorneys thank the Head of the Higher Judicial Council, Judge Suhail Abboud, of his constant support against the ongoing judicial scandals. We tell him that what he has done, now and in the past over eight months regarding cooperation in combating corruption lawsuit files, remains insufficient, and in the face of such a massive crime, it's either to be or not to be! We do not only need honest judges, but rather ones who have the courage to take actual steps through their intervention to curb the ongoing corruption that has reached an extent in criminality that has toppled the country and its people. Fulfil or step down. Leave Maroun Abboud's imprint on his Lebanon.

Today, we have filed a lawsuit with the Judicial Inspection Authority against the First Investigating Judge, Charbel Abi Samra, and a request for setting aside the State Prosecutor General, Judge Ghassan Oweidat; it is not lawful to be a defendant before the Judicial Council while holding the right of practicing public prosecution at the same time. We are also still awaiting the issuance of any written decision by the investigative judge's office to submit the necessary appeal before the Indictment Division in Beirut, which has been already prepared.

The most important thing remains that the aforementioned UFL lawsuit is the only concrete way to set the ceiling by the Judicial Investigator in the investigations into the horrific crime. It would be either content with the timid and even shameful allegation against the minor perpetrators by the State Public Prosecution, or it would amount to what the Lebanese hope of holding accountable the heads of the judicial/security hierarchy and those behind them who are implicated, a matter that puts the Judicial Council and the entire Lebanese judiciary at stake in the process of reforming the judiciary and the real fight against corruption.

The time has come for us to unite with invited revolutionaries and reformers, not to miss the current opportunity--with the current international support--with our differences, or we lose a homeland that would be difficult to regain otherwise."