Judicial rulings against people from the Arab tribes of Khaldeh, south of Beirut, renewed the debate about the military court in Lebanon, which some accused of bias as it did not convict any of the supporters of Hezbollah involved in a dispute in Aug. 2021.
On Wednesday, the military court issued rulings against those accused of the Khaldeh clashes that took place between the Arab tribes of the region and supporters of Hezbollah in 2021.
Armed clashes erupted between Hezbollah supporters and a rival group in Khaldeh, south of Beirut, on Aug. 1. The skirmish occurred during the funeral of a Hezbollah member, who had been killed overnight in a revenge shooting. The tribes considered that they were being provoked by gunmen from the party who participated in the funeral, so they opened fire on the funeral procession, killing four Hezbollah supporters.
At that time, the Lebanese army arrested those involved in the shooting. Their trial began in the military court in parallel with reconciliation efforts undertaken by the Progressive Socialist Party, and its head, Walid Jumblatt, and with the mediation of the Lebanese army intelligence, which failed to achieve any breakthrough.
Lebanese politicians saw that the rulings were biased in favor of Hezbollah, as the court did not condemn any of the group’s armed members who were involved in the clashes.
With the announcement of the court ruling, tension mounted in Khaldeh on Wednesday evening, after a number of protesters blocked the highways in both directions. Gunfire was heard in the area.
Lebanese parliamentarians, including members of the Democratic Gathering bloc, expressed their surprise at the court decision. MP Faisal Al-Sayegh said on his Twitter account: “What is very surprising is the issuance of very harsh sentences against the Arab tribes exclusively, despite the presence of two sides in the problem…”
For his part, MP Marc Daou, pointed to “unfair rulings”, adding: “It seems that the political security pressure from [Hezbollah] was stronger than the military court’s adherence to justice and law.”
Similarly, member of the Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc, MP Ghiath Yazbek, said: “After its rulings against the people of Khaldeh, the military court proved once again that it is a cover for [Hezbollah]…”
