A disagreement between the president of the High Superior Council of the Judiciary, Judge Souhail Abboud, and the public prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, is said to be the cause of the cancellation of the meeting of this body which was to examine a complaint lodged by lawyers asking for the prosecution of the commander of the Internal Security Forces, General Imad Othman accused of protecting the governor of the Banque du Liban Riad Salamé.
As a reminder, the latter is suspected of embezzlement and money laundering and is also the subject of complaints abroad.
Like General Imad Othman and Riad Salamé, Judge Ghassan Oweidat is considered close to former Prime Minister Saad Hariri.
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As a reminder, the public prosecutor had already forbidden Judge Jean Tannous to go to a consultation meeting concerning the Riad Salamé affair which was to be held in Paris with his French, Swiss and Luxembourg counterparts. Since then, another file against the governor of the BdL has also been opened in Germany, which estimates his fortune at more than a billion dollars, a figure ruling out any lawful enrichment, according to Berlin. However, Judge Ghassan Oweidat has reportedly received a reprimand complaint from the foreign courts currently investigating who accuse him of obstruction of justice.
The governor of the Banque du Liban also missed his appointments on 4 occasions before the prosecutor of Mount Lebanon, judge Ghada Aoun, who wanted to question him in the case of the manipulation of the Lebanese pound’s price. After freezing his property, Judge Ghada Aoun issued an arrest warrant. During the intervention of State Security to bring him before the judge, members of the ISF under the orders of General Imad Othman intervened, going so far as to threaten to open fire.
Judge Ghada Aoun then filed a complaint before Judge Nicolas Mansour against General Imad Othman for also obstructing justice. However, this complaint can only be pursued with the agreement of the Minister of the Interior.
