Judge Close to Lebanese President 'Rebels' Against General Prosecutor

Judge Ghada Aoun.
Judge Ghada Aoun.
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Judge Close to Lebanese President 'Rebels' Against General Prosecutor

Judge Ghada Aoun.
Judge Ghada Aoun.

Caretaker Lebanese Justice Minister Marie Claude Najm tasked the Judicial Inspection Authority to carry out an assessment of judges in wake of Mount Lebanon state prosecutor Ghada Aoun's rejection of her dismissal by the the discriminatory Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat.

Oweidat had dismissed her from investigating alleged financial crimes committed by a money exchange service.

The case has sparked widespread debate, significantly since Aoun is close to President Michel Aoun.

Najm stressed after Saturday's meeting that she would not take a position with or against any political party, saying she was exercising her legal duties.

She remarked that the people believe that the judiciary is divided and affiliated with political powers. This in turn is dividing the people.

She added that she had tasked the Judicial Inspection Authority two weeks ago to carry out an assessment of judges, urging it to go ahead with the case because the situation was no longer tolerable.

Oweidat had on Friday ordered that the money exchange service case be restricted to three general prosecutors. Judge Aoun would consequently be excluded from the case.

She, however, remained defiant. Hours after his order, she personally showed up at the exchange service , along with state security members, to raid the office.

Amid the raid, supporters of President Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement gathered outside the office in a show of support.

The owner of the exchange service called on the army and Internal Security Forces to intervene because "a judge, along with partisan supporters, were vandalizing private property."

Former General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi told Asharq Al-Awsat that he was not opposed to the involvement of the Judicial Inspection Authority, noting however, that it was not part of its jurisdiction to determine whether the general prosecutor was right to dismissing a state prosecutor from a case.

The entire affair has sparked heated debate in the country.

FPM lawyers condemned the affair as an attempt to tarnish Judge Aoun's image, saying the entire issue was politically motivated.

They defended the judge for "daring to tackle corruption cases and cracking down on corrupt figures."

The Mustaqbal Movement said the affair was "very dangerous and marked a precedent not witnessed during the civil war or even during Syria's hegemony over Lebanon."

It accused Judge Aoun of being selective in opening corruption cases, saying she chooses to prosecute opponents while turning a blind eye to other violations.



Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
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Druze Group ‘Rijal al-Karama’ Rejects Disarmament, Calls for Weapons Regulation in Sweida

Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)
Mourners attend funeral of those killed in clashes in southern Sweida town on Saturday (AFP)

A leading Druze movement said on Sunday that the issue of surrendering arms remains unresolved, even as local leaders in southern Syria announced the official start of implementing a peace agreement brokered by Druze clerics and dignitaries in Sweida province.

Bassem Abu Fakhr, spokesman for the “Rijal al-Karama” movement, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the group's weapons were solely for defense and had never been used offensively.

“The matter of handing over weapons falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense, and no final decision has been made yet,” Abu Fakhr said. “Our arms have never posed a threat to any party. We have not attacked anyone, and our weapons exist to protect our land and honor.”

He added that while the group does not object to regulating the presence of weapons, full surrender was out of the question.

“We have no issue with organizing arms under state authority, provided they remain within the province’s administrative boundaries and under state supervision,” he said. “But the matter of weapons remains unresolved.”

Formed in 2013, Rijal al-Karama was established to protect the Druze community and prevent its youth from being conscripted into fighting for any side in Syria’s protracted conflict, which erupted after mass protests against then President Bashar al-Assad.

The group continues to operate as an independent local defense force, separate from state security institutions.

Abu Fakhr told Asharq Al-Awsat that a high-level meeting held last Thursday in Sweida—attended by senior Druze spiritual leaders Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri and Sheikh Hammoud al-Hanawi, along with local dignitaries and community members—resulted in an agreement to reactivate the police and judicial police under the Ministry of Interior.

Abu Fakhr also denied recent reports claiming that Druze clerics, tribal leaders, and faction commanders had agreed to fully surrender their weapons to the state.

“This issue has not been resolved by all parties in Sweida,” he said, reiterating the group’s position: “We have no objection to organizing the weapons under state oversight, as long as they remain within the administrative boundaries of the province, but not to surrendering them.”

The statement underscores continuing tensions over the role of armed groups in Sweida, a province that has largely remained outside the control of both government and opposition forces throughout Syria’s civil war.