The Maronite Patriarchate in Lebanon has escalated its criticism of the arrest of one of its bishops who came from Israel, demanding accountability and the dismissal of the judge who made this decision.
The patriarchal step came after the permanent council of the Synod of Bishops of the Maronite Church convened a meeting consisting of the patriarchal authority consisting of four bishops that meets under the chairmanship of Patriarch Bechara Al-Rahi in emergency and serious cases.
The Synod expressed its regret that one of the bishops had been arrested “without any right, in contravention of the principles and customs, and without any regard for his person, position, role and mission.”
And he said: “The day before yesterday, members of the Border Public Security Center, by a decision of the government commissioner to the military court, Judge Fadi Akiki, intercepted Archbishop Musa al-Hajj, who is coming from his diocese in the Holy Land (Jerusalem), and detained him for more than 12 hours, without any consideration. for his spiritual position.
He added: “They interrogated him without justification in a security center, and confiscated his Lebanese passport, phone, papers, medical and financial aid that he was carrying for the needy and sick in Lebanon of all sects – Lebanese and Palestinians – because their state has not improved in recent years the management of the country to provide its people with their basic needs.” .
He continued: “As all of this has happened, this arrogance must be confronted and corrected by holding each official accountable for what happened, regardless of his position, and even his dismissal.”
The Permanent Synod of the Bishops of the Maronite Church expressed its rejection, denunciation and denunciation of “in the strongest terms what was done out of a previous conception and design, at a remarkable and suspicious time, and for known malicious ends.”
And he demanded that “this security, judicial, and political play be stopped, and all the aid that was withheld to the bishop should be returned to the trusts, so that the trusts can reach their owners who are waiting for them, and that this case be closed immediately.”
This is not the first time that the government commissioner to the military court has committed actions outside the norm, according to the statement.
The Public Prosecutor of Discrimination in Lebanon called for the referral of Judge Akiki to judicial inspection and his removal, reiterating the “independence of the judiciary from the political authority.”
In response to what was reported that the priest’s arrest was a response from Hezbollah’s militias to the patriarch’s anti-Patriarch positions, the Synod affirmed the constants and positions of the national Maronite Patriarchate, which will not be deterred by any pressure.
And he called on the Lebanese state with all its officials to preserve the dignity and rights of every Lebanese and to lift the injustice against him, whether he is residing on the land of Lebanon or outside it or forcibly expelled from it.
In turn, Deputy Shawki Daccache denounced what happened with the bishop, saying after his meeting with the patriarch: “We are living in one of the most dangerous stages in the country, especially on the economic and social levels, and that there is a state within the state and semi-independent from the state.”
And he refused to bring matters to “the point of the state imposing its control over the state with consent or by ignoring those who are supposed to be trustworthy of the state and the constitution… This matter is rejected and we will not remain silent about it.”
In turn, MP Nadim Gemayel said that “we have always warned more than once that Lebanon is proceeding according to directions that do not resemble its democratic choices, and is heading towards an axis that is contrary to the axis of freedom and democracy, and is within an Iranian axis that imposes all paths and entitlements.”
He continued: “If official Lebanon believes that it is able to receive Ismail Haniyeh, Captagon flees, and leaves the borders loose, and then arrests a metropolitan who has had years of pastoral work and for hundreds of years, Maronite metropolitans go to Jerusalem and perform their duty, and no one asks them what to do?” .
He added: “If official Lebanon believes that it can remain silent about a judge and agencies trying to attack our bishops, then he is wrong and we will confront it and the Iranian occupation. Either our freedom or our security, and we will not compromise on our freedom.”
Bishop Musa al-Hajj, pastor of the Diocese of Haifa and the Holy Land, and the Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem, the Palestinian Territories and the Hashemite Kingdom, in the Maronite community, arrived at the Naqoura crossing (the Lebanese-Israeli land border) back to Lebanon, but the Public Security Center stopped him and conducted an investigation with him that lasted 12 hours.
The arrest came on the basis of a decision by the military investigative judge, Fadi Akiki, noting that the bishop felt humiliated as a result of being subjected to a thorough inspection that included all the items he was transporting with him, which were medicines and aid to Lebanese families, without regard to his religious position and his being a patriarchal deputy representing the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros. shepherd.
By virtue of his job and religious duties, Archbishop Al-Hajj travels between Lebanon and Israel, in a position enjoyed by the Lebanese Christian clergy who serve the parishes there.