Vice President of the Kataeb Party Georges Jreij on Monday voiced his concern over mixing politics and judiciary, noting that today a judge is standing against another and the state security apparatus against the internal security on the issue of the Central Bank.

“The Lebanese judiciary must instil reassurance and stability instead of creating conflicts, search for agents elsewhere. Archbishop Moussa Al-Hage is being convicted based on politics and therefore, US senior advisor Hamos Hochstein should not be received in Lebanon as he is Jewish and whoever receives him should be accused of treason and being a foreign agent,” Jreij said in an interview with Al-Jadeed.

“The Archbishop who was detained unjustly for 11 hours is the Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Haifa and the Holy Land and Patriarchal Exarch of Jerusalem and Palestine and Jordan. This Maronite Archdiocese existed before the independence and the establishment of the Jewish State. Moreover, Archbishop Paul Sayah preceded Al-Hage in this pastoral and humanitarian mission and therefore this is not the first time that an Archbishop enters this region,” he added.

Jreij clarified that Archbishop Al-Hage was prevented from trial and Judge Fadi Akiki knew that the charge was dismissed for lack of jurisdiction.

“The Laws of the Eastern Catholic Church are now applied in Lebanon after being ratified in 1990,” he said.

“Archbishop Moussa Al-Hage always submits the declaration of his assets to the Public security before reaching the borders and then the UNIFIL transfers him to Israel. The law is clear and the customary exists concerning the issue of dioceses of Jerusalem,” he noted.

Jreij stressed the importance of amending the articles of Military Tribunal Law.

“The Criminal Court of Cassation had issued a decision in 1996, in a crime committed in 1993 by Ali Nemer Rahal who was attending meetings held by Israeli Civil Administration official during the occupation period. The court has seen no evidence that the contact between Rahal and the Israelis was intended to harm the state rather to provide civil services, so the aim of treason on the implementation of provisions of article 287 against him, was denied,” he said.  

The Vice President recalled to the proposed law submitted by the Kataeb party in 2016 related to limiting the powers of the military court that contradicts democratic systems as long as there are justice courts.

He also stressed the importance of the two main legal bills submitted by the Kataeb party, proposing the amendment of Military Court’s provisions and the allowance of the safe return of the forcibly deported Lebanese to Israel.

“Would it not be better to pursue the criminals of martyr Prime Minister Hariri and the martyrs of the Cedar Revolution?" he asked referring to Jaafarite Mufti Sheikh Ahmad Qabalan’s speech. 

“Double standards in the judiciary are unacceptable. The Lebanese judiciary is in state of paralysis,” he added. 

“Regarding the specifications of the new president, we believe in a person who has a sovereign and Lebanese vision and whose program is sovereign and is against illegal weapons,” he concluded.

Jreij did not rule out presidential vacuum, saying that previous experiences were not that encouraging.

“We hope for swift presidential election,” he concluded.