Fahmi Says 'Nothing New' in Slim's Case after Rifi Remarks

Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi on Wednesday commented on remarks voiced by ex-justice minister and former Internal Security Forces chief Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi.

“During a press interview, ex-minister Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi mentioned information about the case of the assassination of the political activist Lokman Slim,” Fahmi’s office said in a statement.

“The interior minister’s office would like to clarify that Lebanese security agencies have not unveiled anything new in the case and it hopes security agencies will be provided with any lead that might serve the investigation,” the office added.

In the interview, Rifi said that a CCTV camera had detected “one of the cars of the killers of Lokman Slim” and that the vehicle is “linked to Hizbullah.”

“A highly credible foreign intelligence agency is following up Slim’s assassination case and the case is being strenuously and truly followed up outside the official Lebanese investigations,” Rifi added.

Slim, one of Hizbullah’s most vocal critics in Lebanon, was assassinated earlier this year in south Lebanon and his bullet-riddled body was found in his car.

At the time, Hizbullah condemned the killing and urged authorities to “work quickly on unveiling and penalizing the perpetrators.”

Hizbullah also called on authorities to "combat the crimes that are moving from one area to another in Lebanon and the accompanying political and media exploitation that comes at the expense of domestic security and stability."