Rifi's Bill on Samaha Trial Dropped from Cabinet Agenda

A bill proposed by former Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi on the transfer of ex-Minister Michel Samaha's case to the Judicial Council has been dropped from the cabinet's agenda, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.

Copies of the agenda, which have been sent to ministers, do not include the request made by Rifi to transfer the trial of Samaha from the Military Tribunal to the Judicial Council, the newspaper quoted ministerial sources as saying.

The agenda includes 169 items, some of them new and others accumulated from previous sessions.

Rifi resigned last month, saying Hizbullah dominates the government and is harming Lebanon's ties with Arab countries.

The resignation of Rifi, a longtime critic of Hizbullah, came two days after Saudi Arabia halted deals worth $4 billion aimed at equipping and supporting the Lebanese army and security forces.

Rifi did not comment on Prime Minister Tammam Salam's decision to drop his bill from the agenda when contacted by al-Joumhouria.

But the daily said that some ministers, mainly Sejaan Qazzi and Michel Pharaon, will stir the issue during Thursday's session.

Rifi was among the first officials to condemn the decision of the Military Court to release Samaha on bail.

The ex-information minister was arrested in August 2012 and charged with attempting to carry out "terrorist acts" over allegations that he and Syrian security services chief Ali Mamluk transported explosives and planned attacks and assassinations of political and religious figures in Lebanon.

Samaha was sentenced in May 2015 to four-and-half years in prison, but in June Lebanon's Cassation Court nullified the verdict and ordered a retrial.

G.K.

D.A.