09 May 2007
The case of two Lebanese journalists charged with "harming the reputation and dignity" of the judiciary for reporting on allegations of corruption in the process of judicial appointments was referred to the Press Court on Tuesday, according to a government statement. Al-Akhbar newspaper managing director Ibrahim Awad and journalist Antoine Khoury Harb are being prosecuted for an October 2006 article stating that magistrates Shukri Sader and Ralph Riachi had urged Wissam Hassan, head of the information department at the Internal Security Forces, to appoint a Future Movement supporter as a state prosecutor in North Lebanon. The move was a bid to exert pressure on former Prime Minister Omar Karami and former Interior Minister Suleiman Franjieh, the Al-Akhbar report said. In referring the journalists' case to the Press Court, Beirut First Investigating Magistrate Abdel-Rahim Hammoud called for a fine of up to LL10 million or up to a year's imprisonment for the defendents.
