Jreissati Seeks Legal Action against 'Rumors' after Aoun's Call
Justice Minister Salim Jreissati on Monday asked State Prosecutor Samir Hammoud to prosecute anyone spreading “rumors” in the country, a day after President Michel Aoun warned of “a systematic campaign to deviate attention from the achievements that have been made.”
In his memo, Jreissati asked Hammoud to “take the necessary measures to prosecute those spreading rumors through some media outlets and social networking websites with the aim of undermining political, security, economic, financial and social stability in Lebanon.”
“This systematic campaign contains criminal offenses in terms of sowing discord among the country's components; harming the state's financial reputation locally and abroad; undermining citizens' confidence in their security, economy and national currency; and insulting the dignities of top state officials and civil servants without any proof,” the minister noted.
Aoun had on Sunday called on Lebanese citizens “not to heed rumors” that involve “raising doubts about the stability of national currency; accusing some state officials of corruption; attacking the army amid its confrontation with the terrorists; and the creation of an atmosphere of fear and anxiety through speaking of expected terrorist attacks.”
“This is all part of a systematic campaign to deviate attention from the achievements that have been made on the path of building the State,” Aoun said.
The stances of Aoun and Jreissati come amid a flurry of social media rumors that followed warnings by major Western embassies about possible terror attacks in Lebanon.
Aoun's stance also follows a tweet he posted on September 15 in which he said that “those spreading rumors about suspicious deals and tenders in the government's plans should submit the information they have to the judiciary or else they would be practicing libel and slander that are punishable by law.”
The president's tweet drew a response from former justice minister Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi, who said those who should be prosecuted are “the ones who sacked Judge Shukri Sader before the end of his term because he stood in the face of the deals of corruption and the waste of public money.”
Rifi also accused Aoun and his political movement of “threatening public freedoms” and attempting to “justify corruption.”
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