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Raad Says Mustaqbal to be Held 'Accountable' through 'Law, Not Violence'

Head of Hizbullah's Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Mohammed Raad on Monday clarified remarks voiced by him that were deemed as “threats” by al-Mustaqbal movement, noting that his party would resort to the judiciary to hold Mustaqbal's officials “accountable.”

“We clearly have the right to demand accountability for those who call themselves moderates in Lebanon while they are embracing, supporting and justifying the presence of the takfiris,” said Raad.

“We are serious about this and we are not criminals for them to go too far and think that we would use the sword and violence against them,” Raad noted.

“We are rather demanding that they be held accountable because they are conspiring against their country and society, and their accountability will be within the court of the state of law and institutions,” the lawmaker explained.

In a recent interview on al-Mayadeen TV, Raad had lashed out at Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi and al-Mustaqbal movement secretary-general Ahmed Hariri.

“The last person to talk about the statelet is the justice minister ... and Ahmed Hariri will be held accountable later because he is of a higher rank than Rifi,” Raad said.

But al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc hit back on Friday, describing the MP's remarks as “aggression on civil peace” and a reflection of “terrorism” proliferating in the Middle East because of the party's main backer Iran.

Raad did not hesitate to make verbal threats against the two officials at a time when Hizbullah members are accused of carrying out the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, said the Mustaqbal statement.

Five Hizbullah members have been charged with plotting Hariri's Feb. 2005 murder in a massive explosion at the Beirut seafront but have not been arrested. Their trial in absentia began in January 2014 and is ongoing.

The Mustaqbal bloc said Hizbullah would be held responsible for any harm inflicted on Ahmed Hariri and Rifi.

Y.R.


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