Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan called on Friday for an independent judiciary to give criminals a fair trial following a campaign of criticism by officials against the military court over its verdict against former Minister Michel Samaha.

“The state and the nation are in danger. We look forward for the righteousness of the Lebanese judicial system so that its decisions become fair and create stability,” Daryan said in a televised speech on the occasion of Isra and Miraj.

Speaker Nabih Berri has described the current situation as “disgraceful” as a result of the rivalry between the country's different factions.

“The current situation at the level of the parliament's paralysis and the work of the government is despicable,” Berri told his visitors on Thursday.

A delegation from the U.S. Central Command is expected to visit Beirut soon for talks with top officials on military assistance to Lebanon, high-ranking diplomats said.

The diplomats, who were not identified, told al-Joumhouria newspaper published on Friday that the delegation is scheduled to meet with Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, Army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji and the officers in charge of the U.S.-Lebanese military cooperation office.

Prime Minister Tammam Salam has reportedly stressed that he would reject possible resignations by cabinet ministers over the dispute on the mandates of senior security officers.

Al-Liwaa daily on Friday quoted a ministerial source as saying that Salam has been clear on rejecting the resignations if the ministers loyal to Hizbullah and Free Patriotic Movement leader Michel Aoun took such a move.

Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to give a televised speech on Saturday on the battle that his fighters are waging in the Syrian region of Qalamoun.

Nasrallah's speech is expected to focus on the military, security and political aspects of the Qalamoun fighting taking place between Syrian forces backed by Hizbullah and jihadists, said As Safir daily on Friday.

A number of protesters staged a sit-in Thursday outside the Military Court in Beirut to denounce what they called “the farce of a verdict” that was issued Wednesday against former minister Michel Samaha.

“We call for reconsidering the verdict issued against Michel Samaha because such a verdict encourages terrorism and extremism,” a Mustaqbal movement youth official said at the demo.

Al-Mustaqbal movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri held talks Thursday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi.

The meeting was also attended by Hariri's adviser Nader Hariri, his adviser for Russian affairs George Shaaban, Putin's foreign affairs aide Yuri Ushakov and Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov.

The Loyalty to the Resistance bloc urged on Thursday support for Hizbullah and "its mission of confronting foreign aggression."

MP Hassan Fadlallah said after the bloc's weekly meeting: “The battle that Hizbullah is waging in al-Qalamoun is a national duty obligated by the interests of our people.”

The March 14 General Secretariat concluded on Thursday a workshop for its preparatory commission, which is tasked with proposing the roadmap of the upcoming stage and the bylaws of the the coalition's National Council.

According to a statement issued by the secretariat, the commission failed to reach an agreement over the council's final manifesto, which includes political parties, independents and civil society activists.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat criticized on Thursday the sentence issued by the military court against former Minister Michel Samaha.

“The court's verdict in Samaha's case legalizes assassinations and explosions,” he said in a statement.