The President of the Beirut Bar Association, Melhem Khalaf, called out the caretaker Economy Minister, Raoul Nehme, for the “dangerous and horrific interference” in the Beirut blast investigation.
This came in response to Nehme’s recent controversial suggestion that the investigative judge eliminates the possibility that the explosion was the result of military or terrorist activity in order to settle insurance claims.
In a statement, the families of Beirut blast victims already slammed Nehme, saying that he surprised them “by appointing himself a judge and issuing a preliminary ruling…”
Outraged, Khalaf said that Nehme’s request was a “violation of the Constitution, which prohibits the political authority from interfering in the judicial work,” adding that it is a criminal offense punishable by the penal code and that, in any case, it is considered null and void.
He said that there is no reason that can justify Nehme’s “blatant interference” into the investigation by asking to eliminate a possibility before the investigators themselves were able to determine the cause of the blast.
Khalaf stressed that Nehme must apologize for his action and consider his request invalid, and called on the caretaker Justice Minister to ignore it if she receives it.
