Rifi on STL Lawsuit Summoning Lebanese Journalists: I Cannot but Implement the Law
Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi confirmed on Saturday that his commitment to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's request in the case of Al-Jadeed TV's Karma al-Khayat and al-Akhbar daily's Ibrahim al-Amin was not discussed at the cabinet session, stressing that he has no choice but to implement the law.
The Minister told al-Liwaa daily that his commitment to the STL's request was not “discussed during Friday's cabinet session nor was it brought up by any of the ministers.”
He stressed that his post as Justice Minister obliges him to abide by the decisions of the judicial authority and that he has no choice but to implement the law.
“I support justice and law and I will stay loyal to my martyrs,” he said in reference to slain former PM Rafik Hairri and officials, who were killed in a series of bombings.
Rifi had stressed earlier that “if the Special Tribunal for Lebanon asks me to arrest al-Akhbar newspaper editor-in-chief Ibrahim al-Amin and Deputy News and Political Program Manager at Al-Jadeed TV, Karma Khayat, I will do it without hesitation.”
In April, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon summoned the two journalists to appear before the court on charges of “contempt and obstruction of justice.”
In April last year, a list of 167 names of so-called witnesses for the Hariri trial was published by a previously unknown group identified as "Journalists for the Truth."
The group said it wanted to "unveil the corruption" of the STL.
Both al-Akhbar and al-Jadeed published the list.
The accused are being charged under Rule 60 bis (A) of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and all the charges relate to the case of the five Hizbullah members, who have been indicted in Hariri's assassination.
D.A.
G.K.
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