December 8, 2009 - Daily Star - Syrian court summons local officials in Sayyed case

BEIRUT: Several Lebanese officials were summoned on Monday to appear in front of the Syrian judiciary for a lawsuit filed against them by former head of Lebanon’s General Security Jamil al-Sayyed. The Syrian judiciary sent a warrant to the Lebanese judiciary demanding that several Lebanese officials appear before the first investigating judge in Damascus to be questioned for the lawsuit Sayyed filed against them accusing them of slander, falsifying witnesses and depriving him of his freedom. The warrant mentioned names such as former ministers Marawan Hamadeh, Charles Rizk and Hassan al-Sabaa; former MP Elias Atallah; State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, magistrates Saqr Saqr and Elias Eid; former head of Lebanon’s military intelligence Johnny Abdo; and a number of military officials and journalists. The Lebanese Cassation Court has started studying the warrant to determine if it followed the judiciary protocol agreed upon by the two countries in 1951, especially that it was not immediately presented to the Justice Ministry. If investigations showed that legal procedures were violated and Lebanon’s independence was at risk, the warrant could be returned to Syria.