Lebanese Judiciary Orders Seizure of MP’s Assets

Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
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Lebanese Judiciary Orders Seizure of MP’s Assets

Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
Police forces gather outside the parliament building in Downtown Beirut November 5, 2014. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

The Lebanese judiciary ordered Thursday a provisional seizure of MP Hadi Hbeish’s assets in a case filed against him over his assault on Mount Lebanon Judge Ghada Aoun.

Judge Faisal Makki in Beirut issued Thursday an order on the provisional seizure of the assets belonging to Hbeish.

The seizure comes in light of the Lebanese state's case against the lawmaker to pay compensation to the state over his assault on Aoun.

Based on Makki’s decision, the state should be awarded LL500 million in damages in addition to another LL50 million.

Therefore, the judge ordered the provisional seizure of Hbeish’s immovable properties and cars.

In December, there was tension between Hbeish and Aoun after the arrest of Director-General of the Traffic and Vehicles Management Authority Hoda Salloum, who is a relative of the MP.

Following her arrest, Hbeish headed to the Justice Palace in Baabda where he launched a fierce verbal attack on Aoun for ordering Salloum’s arrest.

A video showed the lawmaker describing the judge as “a militiawoman and a symbol of corruption.”

Following the verbal assault, Aoun told a local television channel that “Salloum’s arrest was based on data and evidence,” and part of nationwide efforts to clamp down on corruption.

She then filed a complaint against the deputy over defamation and threats.

Hbeish said that Aoun had arrested Salloum unlawfully.



Lebanese President to Consult on New Prime Minister from Monday

 Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
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Lebanese President to Consult on New Prime Minister from Monday

 Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)
Lebanon's newly elected President Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut, on January 10, 2025. (AFP)

Newly elected Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will hold consultations with members of parliament from Jan. 13 to nominate a prime minister, the presidency said on Friday.

Once named, the new prime minister must form a government, a process that often takes many months. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati is widely seen as a frontrunner, but opposition parliamentarian Fouad Makhzoumi may have the backing of a number of lawmakers, political sources said.

The post is reserved for a Sunni figure in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, which also reserves the presidency for a Maronite Christian and the speaker of parliament post for a Shiite.

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Aoun as president on Thursday, filling a post that has been vacant since October 2022 with a general who has US support and showing the weakened sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.

In his first remarks as president on Thursday, Aoun said that he would work to assert the state's right to hold the monopoly on arms.

Mikati said on Friday that the state would begin disarming in southern Lebanon, to assert its presence across the country.

Lebanon and Israel agreed in November to a 60-day ceasefire that stipulates that only "official military and security forces" in Lebanon are authorized to carry arms.

The proposal refers to both sides' commitment to fully implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1701, including provisions that refer to the "disarmament of all armed groups in Lebanon".