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Yet another blow was delivered to the Lebanese state today, when the convict Dani al-Rachid escaped from a State Security prison.
Accused of attempted murder in Zahle, he was nevertheless located and arrested early this evening on the border with Syria.
The case in question is a real scandal that requires no further investigation to reveal that Rachid’s escape was the result of a well-laid plan that is extremely embarrassing for the state. Widely known for having special political and security protection, he received preferential treatment in prison, as if he were staying in a luxury five-star hotel.
The incident that baffled judges and security officials alike raises questions about the efficiency of the Lebanese security apparatus and the identity of the people who plotted Rachid’s escape—and possibly his travel abroad.
Rachid happens to be the director of the office of former Minister Salim Jreissati, an advisor to former President Michel Aoun and personal advisor to the head of State Security, General Tony Saliba, also close to Michel Aoun.
The incident sparked outrage among several judges, prompting the Court of Cassation General Prosecutor, Jamal al-Hajjar, to hold an emergency meeting in his office with government commissioner to the Military Tribunal, judge Fadi Akiki. It was agreed that an immediate inquiry would be initiated by Akiki, under Hajjar’s supervision. According to a judicial source, the inquiry resulted in the arrest of three State Security officers, while several others are still under investigation.
The same source confirmed that judge Akiki “summoned General Tony Saliba for questioning, given that the latter is the head of State Security and the person in charge of the officers’ behavior.” Saliba “found the matter peculiar and inquired about the reasons, before agreeing to appear at Akiki’s office and give his testimony before the Military Court.”
Additionally, the First Investigative Magistrate in the Bekaa, judge Amani Salameh, emitted a non-final order accusing Rachid of “the felony of attempted murder against engineer Abdallah Hanna (who has ties to the Secretary General of the Popular Bloc, Myriam Skaff) by instigating individuals to beat and harm him.” However, the accusing committee nullified judge Salameh’s order and accused Rachid of simple “bodily harm.” All attempts at freeing the latter proved unsuccessful.
Rachid’s (facilitated) escape came a few days after the report was sent to judge Jamal Hajjar. The report states that the former “enjoys favoritism from State Security, given that he is the advisor to the head of State Security and has ties to a number of political officials. Furthermore, information shows that Rachid was being frequently taken out of jail to his home, where he would spend long hours with his family and friends. Subsequently, judge Hajjar sent a notification to General Saliba for the transfer of all State Security prisoners to jails under the supervision of the Internal Security Forces (ISF), but the transfer in question did not take place.”
The judicial source also clarified that Hajjar “asked State Security representatives about the causes of the delay and requested a full list of the inmates,” adding that the General Prosecutor “received the list with the names of all the inmates except Dani Rachid, which led Hajjar to believe that he had been transferred to a central prison. Hajjar was then surprised to hear of Rachid’s escape.”
Even more surprising is the fact that the escape operation occurred a few hours after General Saliba and ISF General Director Imad Osman had fixed the timing of Rachid’s transfer to an ISF prison.
