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Lebanese Judge Ghada Aoun Summoned for Questioning

Judge Ghada Aoun. NNA file photo
Judge Ghada Aoun. NNA file photo
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Lebanese Judge Ghada Aoun Summoned for Questioning

Judge Ghada Aoun. NNA file photo
Judge Ghada Aoun. NNA file photo

Public Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oweidat set next Monday a date to question Judge Ghada Aoun for insulting the Supreme Judicial Council, in addition to other cases, a judicial source told Asharq Al-Awsat.

Her summoning by Owaidat shocked the judiciary because the judge is backed by President Michel Aoun and the Free Patriotic Movement that is led by the president’s son-in-law Gebran Bassil.

Judge Aoun will also be questioned on the cases filed by deputy Hadi Hobeich against her for defamation.

Oweidat has commissioned Judge Ghassan al-Khoury to interrogate her and to inform him of the results in order to take the appropriate legal action.

Judge Aoun has posted on her WhatsApp harsh remarks on the Supreme Judicial Council, accusing it of trying to keep mouths shut after she gave her opinion about appointments in the judiciary.

The source said Judge Aoun “was called in for investigation before President of the Supreme Judicial Council, Judge Imad Kabalan, last Thursday, but she rejected.”

He said that Khoury then contacted Judge Aoun, and informed her that it is necessary that she heads to his office at the Justice Palace in Beirut before noon next Monday.

Sources close to Aoun considered her summoning a political campaign against her.

Hobeich welcomed Friday the summoning of the judge.

“I have never threatened Judge Aoun, but only raised my voice against the violations she committed against me and many other lawyers,” Hobeich told Asharq Al-Awsat.

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US Envoy Says Israel's Turn to 'Comply' as Lebanon Moves to Disarm Hezbollah

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack (2-R), senior adviser at US Mission to the UN, Morgan Ortagus (2-L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. EPA/LEBANESE PRESIDENCY HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack (2-R), senior adviser at US Mission to the UN, Morgan Ortagus (2-L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. EPA/LEBANESE PRESIDENCY HANDOUT
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US Envoy Says Israel's Turn to 'Comply' as Lebanon Moves to Disarm Hezbollah

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack (2-R), senior adviser at US Mission to the UN, Morgan Ortagus (2-L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. EPA/LEBANESE PRESIDENCY HANDOUT
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency press office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (R) meeting with US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack (2-R), senior adviser at US Mission to the UN, Morgan Ortagus (2-L) and US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. EPA/LEBANESE PRESIDENCY HANDOUT

US envoy Tom Barrack on Monday called on Israel to honor commitments under a ceasefire that ended its war with Hezbollah, after the Lebanese government launched a process to disarm the militant group. 

Under the November truce agreement, weapons in Lebanon were to be restricted to the state and Israel was to fully withdraw its troops from the country, although it has kept forces at five border points it deems strategic. 

"I think the Lebanese government has done their part. They've taken the first step. Now what we need is Israel to comply," Barrack said following a meeting in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun at the Presidential Palace in Baabda. 

The meeting was also attended by Morgan Ortagus, Deputy United States Special Envoy to the Middle East . 

Asked by reporters about whether he expected to see Israel fully withdraw from Lebanese territory, Barrack said that "that's exactly the next step" needed. 

To the US diplomat, "the next step is we need participation on the part of Israel, and we need an economic plan for prosperity, restoration and renovation" in Lebanon, weighed down by dire political and economic crises in recent years. 

Barrack said Washington was "in the process of now discussing with Israel what their position is", adding that "in the next few weeks you're going to see progress on all sides." 

"It means a better life for the people... and at least the beginning of a roadway to a different kind of dialogue" in the region, he said. 

The US diplomat's visit comes less than two weeks after Lebanon's cabinet tasked the army with developing a plan to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah by the end of the year -- an unprecedented step since civil war factions gave up their weapons decades ago. 

A second cabinet meeting on August 7 tackled a US proposal that includes a timetable for Hezbollah's disarmament, with Washington pressing Lebanon to take action on the matter. 

The cabinet endorsed the introduction of the US text, which lists 11 objectives including "ensuring the sustainability" of the November ceasefire agreement with Israel, and "the gradual end of the armed presence of all non-governmental entities, including Hezbollah, in all Lebanese territory". 

Israel routinely carries out air strikes in Lebanon despite the ceasefire, and has signaled it would not hesitate to launch destructive military operations if Beirut failed to disarm Hezbollah. 

Barrack on Monday stressed that "dealing with Hezbollah, as we've always said, is a Lebanese process".