Lebanonupdated 58m ago3 min read
MapLebanese Military Prosecutors Charge 13 Hezbollah Members Over Dahr Al-Baidar Explosives Shipment
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13 Hezbollah members charged over explosives shipment seized at Dahr el-Baidar by Lebanese military court. Charges include possessing weapons, undermining state security, and forming illegal associations.
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Charges after Dahr al-Baidar
Lebanese military prosecutors charged 13 Hezbollah members over a seized explosives shipment after security forces stopped a truck at Dahr al-Baidar, on the highway connecting the Bekaa Valley to Beirut. The Media Line said the truck was intercepted on October 5 and carried a 780-kilogram cargo that included 250 kilograms of TNT and another 250 kilograms of C-4 plastic explosives. The vehicle had been carrying 780kg including 250kg of TNT and 250kg of C-4 plastic explosives.
Hezbollah acknowledged it owned the explosives and said they were destined for use against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, while it also said the organization called for the seized cargo to be returned and the detainees released. Al Jazeera said two people were arrested during the seizure, while the 11 others charged remain at large and were charged in absentia.
Hezbollah challenges indictment
Hezbollah Member of Parliament Hussein Hajj Hassan argued that the indictment issued by the Government Commissioner to the Military Court against Lebanese citizens “lacks the most basic rules of the National Pact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Charter, and numerous Lebanese laws”. Hussein Hajj Hassan also said the detainees and the rest of the accused citizens were “performing a national duty in defense of their country, state sovereignty, and to protect the Lebanese people”. Hezbollah would not escalate over the charges filed by Judge Claude Ghanem and said “a decision has been made to give political contacts a chance,” citing political sources.
Judge Claude Ghanem, the military court’s government commissioner, filed the charges, and the matter was proceeding toward an investigative judge while Cabinet ministers disagreed over whether it should instead go before the Judicial Council. Hezbollah called the charges “unjust” and said the individuals “did not undermine the security or integrity of the state, but rather confronted the Israeli enemy that threatens Lebanon’s existence,” as it faced growing pressure to disarm.
State control and next steps
Lebanon’s case has become a test of the government’s drive to place all weapons under state control, as The Media Line said the prosecution followed a March decision to prohibit Hezbollah’s military operations after the group fired rockets at Israel. Washington urged Lebanese authorities not to return the explosives, and the case would test whether the government can enforce its claim to exclusive authority over weapons and military action. الحرة reported that the scope of the judicial proceedings widened to include 13 people accused of belonging to Hezbollah, and it said the dispute in the Cabinet centered on whether to refer the case to the Judicial Council.
Ministers from the Lebanese Forces party boycotted a Cabinet session in protest over the failure to refer the case to the Judicial Council, while military courts were handling the case for now. Judge Claude Ghanem is about to file a complaint against “Abou Haïdar” in connection with the explosives cargo case linked to Hezbollah, and the first investigating judge of the military court, Judge Ghada Abu Alwan, will receive the investigations file tomorrow, Monday, and set a hearing to question Hitham Amhaz and Ali Al-Kurdi within the next two days.