Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday threw his support behind the embattled Beirut port blast investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, calling on him to \u201ccontinue his work\u201d despite the recusal lawsuits and the latest judicial standoff.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that Judicial Investigator Judge Tarek Bitar will continue his work to unveil the truth and issue the indictment,\u201d al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon, asking Bitar to \u201cseek the assistance of any international authority that might help in uncovering the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Al-Rahi also lamented that \u201cthe meetings of judicial bodies are witnessing a lack of quorum, with judges and public prosecutors defying the Higher Judicial Council and its head and refraining from attending the meetings.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is unacceptable! The judiciary has its mechanism and hierarchy,\u201d the patriarch added.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cJudges are rebelling against their authorities instead of rebelling against politicians. They are overbidding against each other, impeding the investigations of each other, releasing suspects en masse and arresting the relatives of the port victims,\u201d al-Rahi decried, in an apparent jab at some judges, especially at State Prosecutor Judge Ghassan Oueidat.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThey are undermining the norms of raiding, summoning and subpoenaing; reversing their rulings; bowing to those who have influence; violating sovereign laws; breaching the investigations\u2019 confidentiality in front of foreign nations before knowing their true motives; implicating themselves in plots of grudges and vengeance; showing strength against the weak; showing weakness toward the strong; and smuggling foreign (dual national) detainees.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not allow the port bombing crime to go without punishment, no matter how much time passes and how many rulers change,\u201d al-Rahi vowed<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday threw his support behind the embattled Beirut port blast investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, calling on him to \u201ccontinue his work\u201d despite the recusal lawsuits and the latest judicial standoff.\u201cWe hope that Jud…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n