Hizbullah Bloc Says Accusations over Slim's Murder Require Prosecution

Hizbullah’s Loyalty to Resistance bloc on Thursday renewed the party’s condemnation of the murder of prominent activist Lokman Slim while slamming the political accusations that have been addressed to Hizbullah in this regard.

The bloc “renews the call for the competent judicial and security agencies to quickly work on unveiling the perpetrators,” it said in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

“The targeted media campaigns, the political accusations and the deliberate condemnation -- that is based on slander, defamation and getting ahead of the investigations -- are deplorable acts that require prosecution and accountability because they are aimed at incitement, stirring chaos and offering free services to the Israeli enemy and its handler America,” the bloc added.

Slim's family has expressed skepticism that a government investigation would lead to those who killed him, citing a history of unresolved assassinations and political crimes in Lebanon. The family had hired a private forensic pathologist to carry out an independent examination of Slim's body. Many of his friends have suspected Hizbullah supporters had a role in his killing, citing previous threats to the vocal critic of the powerful group.

Slim, a secular Shiite who had good ties with Western nations, was a vocal critic of Hizbullah's hold on power in Lebanon and its regional policies. Still, he decided to continue to live in his home in Haret Hreik, a southern suburb of Beirut that became part of the militant group's stronghold decades after he was born.