Bassil Slams Some Blocs' Bid to 'Prevent Judiciary from Unveiling Port Blast Truth'
Free Patriotic Movement chief MP Jebran Bassil on Wednesday noted that Thursday's parliamentary session is "illegitimate."
It does not conform to "the legal mechanism stipulated by Article 93 of parliament's bylaws and Articles 20 and 22 of the penal code for trials before the Higher Council (for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers), which strips the session of its legality and renders all its measures illegal," Bassil tweeted.
"The FPM's principled stance is in favor of lifting the immunities that prevent the prosecution of those responsible for the port blast, and we reject the attempt by some in parliament to bypass the judiciary and prevent it from continuing the investigation to unveil the truth," Bassil added.
"We will not tolerate the concealment of the truth," the FPM chief stressed.
Thursday's session -- which will be boycotted by the FPM, the Lebanese Forces, the Progressive Socialist Party, the Armenian bloc and several independent MPs -- is dedicated to discussing a controversial parliamentary petition aimed at prosecuting three MPs summoned by Judge Tarek al-Bitar in the port blast probe.
The petition calls for the Higher Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers to look into the charges instead of Bitar, who is the lead investigative judge named by the Higher Judicial Council -- the country's top national security court.
The Higher Council for the Trial of Presidents and Ministers consists of eight judges and seven MPs. It was only activated twice in Lebanon's history -- in 1993 and 1999.
Source: Naharnet
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