Lebanon: postponement of a parliamentary session on the indictment of deputies

Lebanese soldiers patrol in front of the Lebanese Parliament (archives).

REUTERS / Sharif Karim

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2 min

In Lebanon, a session of the Chamber intended to examine a possible indictment, before a parliamentary commission, of three deputies prosecuted by the judge in charge of the investigation into the double explosion of the port of Beirut was postponed Thursday for lack of quorum.

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With our correspondent in Beirut,

Paul Khalifeh

Twenty deputies were missing to ensure the quorum of this controversial parliamentary session, which was opposed by part of the political forces, the families of the victims of

the port tragedy

and activists of the protest movement.

The session was supposed to consider the indictment of three MPs, who have held ministerial posts in recent years.

But for opponents of this move, the real goal was to prevent these three politicians from being tried in a criminal court.

The Parliament had postponed the examination of a request for the lifting of the immunity of these deputies, as requested by the examining magistrate in charge of the port investigation, Tarek Bitar.

Beyond the postponement of the parliamentary session, this new episode of the investigation into the tragedy of the port illustrates the deep differences between the traditional parties.

These cracks in power show the state of advanced decay affecting the Lebanese political system.

The majority of the 39 deputies who attended the meeting belong to Hezbollah and the Amal movement, Shiites.

Those who boycotted are mainly Sunni and Christian deputies, which adds a religious dimension to the crisis in Lebanon.

The aborted parliamentary session was accompanied by violence that left several injured between protesters and supporters of the Speaker of the House, Nabih Berry.

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