Lebanon06 November, 20263 min read
Judge Ghada Abu Alwan Orders Detention Of Ali Al-Kurdi And Haitham Amhaz In Hezbollah Explosives Case
“any conviction would be tantamount to cutting off the hand of the resistance”
“the group rejected the legal action, describing the indictments as inherently unfair.”
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Detention ordered for Ali al-Kurdi and Haitham Amhaz by Judge Ghada Abu Alwan Case involves a truckload of explosives seized at Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint
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Detentions begin
Lebanon’s military investigating judge Ghada Abu Alwan ordered the detention of Ali al-Kurdi and Haitham Amhaz after questioning over a truckload of explosives seized at the Dahr al-Baidar checkpoint in eastern Lebanon about a month ago. First Military Investigating Judge Ghada Abu Alwan issued arrest warrants for both men following a hearing attended by their lawyer, Maan al-Asaad, and the warrants stemmed from charges brought by Judge Claude Ghanem, the government commissioner at the military court. The charges alleged offenses including possessing weapons and explosives and forming "illegal associations" aimed at undermining the state's authority and prestige, and the case also named 11 other Hezbollah members who remain at large.
Asharq Al-Awsat said the questioning marked a turning point as the case shifted from preliminary investigations to formal judicial proceedings, with legal scrutiny focused on where the explosives came from, where they were headed, and who was responsible for transporting them. Kurdi and Amhaz told Abu Alwan their role was limited to collecting explosives from "Sajed" in Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley and delivering them to "Dhul Fiqar" in Musharrafieh in Beirut's southern suburbs.
Hezbollah pushes back
A Hezbollah delegation visited the Justice Palace in Beirut to press the explosives case with State Prosecutor Judge Ahmad Rami al-Hajj, and MTV reported the delegation included Hussein al-Abdallah, MP Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, and lawyer Hussein Hammoud. Naharnet reported that the delegation informed Judge al-Hajj of the Hezbollah leadership's position that these explosives belong to the party for resistance against Israel, and that any conviction would be tantamount to cutting off the hand of the resistance at a time when Israeli bulldozing operations and attacks are ongoing. Kurdi and Amhaz stood by their initial statements to army intelligence, insisting they knew neither the explosives' destination nor their intended use.
Hezbollah rejected the legal action, describing the indictments as inherently unfair and characterizing the court’s decision as being subject to external political dictates. Global Arab Network also said the military court’s move to prosecute those allegedly involved in logistics and transport of the illicit cargo marked a significant moment in the intersection of Lebanon’s legal framework and the country’s complex security environment.
Indictments and next steps
Lebanon’s military judiciary formally indicted 13 individuals in the explosives case, and it described the shipment as 500 kilograms of explosive material that Hezbollah previously confirmed as its own property.
The military court moved forward with legal proceedings against those allegedly involved in the logistics and transport of the illicit cargo, while Hezbollah’s official statement rejected the legal action as inherently unfair.
Asaad filed preliminary procedural objections on behalf of defendants who remain at large, delaying their questioning until Nov. 17, and Abu Alwan referred the filing to Ghanem for review and an opinion before ruling on the objections.
Abu Alwan was still awaiting records from the Internal Security Forces' Information Branch, which analyzed mobile phones belonging to Kurdi, Amhaz and his wife, Perina Krishiona.
Abu Alwan ordered the detention of Ali al-Kurdi and Haitham Amhaz in the case of a truck carrying explosives stopped at the Dahr al-Baydar checkpoint in the east of the country about a month ago, and the judge postponed questioning of the defendants who remain at large until November 17.