Geagea Says He's Under Law but Urges Military Court to be Fair
Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea on Friday commented anew on the the Military Court’s decision to summon him for testimony regarding the deadly Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh incidents.
“As the head of a legitimate Lebanese party, I’m under the law,” Geagea tweeted.
“But for justice to be correct, the judiciary must deal with all parties in the country as them being under the law,” he added.
Geagea also lamented that “it seems that the main party in the Ain al-Remmaneh incidents considers itself to be above the law” and that “so far, the military judiciary is agreeing with it in this belief.”
The LF leader had overnight stressed that he will not appear before the Military Court if Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is not also summoned. “The days of the Our Lady of Salvation Church are over and we will never allow a return to those days,” he emphasized.
Seven people were killed on October 14 -- mostly Hizbullah and Amal Movement members -- during a protest organized by the two groups to demand Tarek Bitar, the judge investigating Beirut's devastating port blast, be removed.
Hizbullah and Amal accused the Lebanese Forces, which supports the probe, of being responsible for sniper fire against the protesters that ignited street clashes. The LF denies the charges.
Fadi Akiki, a representative of the military court, has "instructed the army intelligence to summon Geagea and take his statement based on information provided by arrested LF members," a judicial official said.
Twenty-six people were arrested after the violence in the Tayyouneh-Ain al-Remmaneh area, most of them LF members, the official added on Thursday.
The exact circumstances of the violence remain unclear.
Geagea has denied responsibility for the deaths, saying that residents of Ain al-Remmaneh had "defended" themselves against "Hizbullah militiamen who tried to enter their homes."
Source: Naharnet
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