Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai met with the caretaker Minister of the Interior, Bassam Mawlawi, and the former Minister of Finance and current Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, Jihad Azour.
Upon discussing the issue of the presidential election, Mawlawi stressed that “the election of the president of the Republic must take place on January 9.”
Mawlawi also disclosed that “the case of Duraid al-Assad's family is linked to falsified passports.” The wife and daughter of Duraid al-Assad, cousin of Bashar al-Assad, were arrested on Friday at Beirut International Airport for possession of false passports. They were brought before the Cassation Prosecutor's Office, which ordered their arrest on charges of forgery, as the Assad family file involves counterfeit passports. The General Security “is applying the law, and the file is referred to the judiciary,” Mawlawi stated.
In this regard, he added that “not all those entering Lebanon from Syria are members or officers of the Syrian army, and General Security is following up on the case,” explaining that “the army arrests people entering Lebanon illegally, in cooperation with all the security forces, and hands them over to General Security to take the necessary measures.”
For his part, Azour made no political statement, as his protocol visit was part of the festivities.
Comments