The members did not understand Abboud’s behavior, and a verbal altercation began between them and him because “what he is doing is not acceptable and is once morest the law.” They left the session asking the Cassation Public Prosecutor, Judge Ghassan Oweidat, to preside over it. However, the latter tried to ease the tension and asked him to stay. Here, Abboud affirmed that he absolutely refuses to appoint an alternate judge, “and this matter is no longer possible.” Then the spasm returned and the voices became louder, and one of the members addressed him by saying: “We are not students here.” Abboud was accused of politicizing and using judges in his orbit to dismiss all cases, keep investigations suspended, and confine all matters to Al-Bitar’s hands.
After Judge Randa Harrouq, who is assigned to chair Chamber 12 of the Civil Court of Appeal in Beirut, following Judge Nassib Elia stepped down, rejected the lawsuit filed by former Minister Youssef Fenianos for lack of qualitative jurisdiction, and decided to inform Al-Bitar of the content of her decision to pursue his investigations, some members drew attention to Abboud’s insistence on « Bring back al-Bitar, even if illegally.” Haruk is the wife of Judge Jean Marc Aweys, who was assigned by Abboud to head the first civil chamber of the Court of Cassation to consider requests for the response of Judge Bitar. Abboud referred the response requests to non-competent chambers in complete violation of the regulatory decision regarding the distribution of works among the chambers of the Courts of Cassation issued in 2009 by the first president, Ghaleb Ghanem, which is still in effect. It stipulates “the competence of the Sixth Criminal Chamber to consider requests for response and not any other chamber. However, Abboud refused to refer the requests to the Sixth Chamber, according to the rules, because its president, Jamal Al-Hajjar, applies the law and does not respond to Abboud’s interventions and pressures (as happened in the decision to disqualify Judge Sawan, whom Abboud refused to remove).
In this context, Al-Akhbar learned that a number of detainees and defendants in the case are in the process of filing suspicious cases once morest Abboud and Owais, while the Director General of Customs Badri Daher, through his attorney, Rima Suleiman, filed a complaint once morest Abboud before the Judicial Inspection Authority on the issue of violating the law regulating the judicial judiciary. Because of the disruption of the Council’s work and the failure to sign a fundamental report on the minutes of the last meeting prepared by the Council regarding the appointment of an alternate justice judge, in addition to the diversion of influence, abuse of authority, and obstruction of the judicial facility.
Yesterday, the Supreme Judicial Council session did not take more than half an hour before it “fly” following a clash and verbal altercations between its president, Judge Suhail Abboud and the members. With the opening of the session, Abboud wanted to discuss a new agenda that did not include an item appointing an alternate judge for the judicial investigator in the port bombing case, Judge Tariq Al-Bitar, in contrast to what was agreed upon in the previous session, i.e. “to complete the previous agenda that includes this item.”
