Lebanese President orders Justice Ministry to Take Legal Action against Rifi

Lebanese President Michel Sleiman ordered the Justice Ministry to take legal measures against Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi over the Telecoms Ministry dispute.

According to a statement issued by the Presidential Palace, President Michel Sleiman requested that the Justice Ministry take legal action against Internal Security Forces chief Major General Ashraf Rifi over his refusal to obey the orders of caretaker Interior Minister Ziad Baroud.

On Thursday, Baroud had ordered Rifi to pull out ISF Intelligence Bureau personnel from the second floor of the building affiliated with the telecom ministry, where OGERO Telecom is in charge of the installations of the third mobile network donated by China to Lebanon according to a cabinet resolution.

The ISF justified its action by saying that the deployment of security forces during the installation of such networks is part of routine procedure, adding that dismantling the network requires Cabinet’s approval.

Following the incident, Interior Minister Ziad Baroud, who had issued orders that the security personnel withdraw from the facilities, absolved himself of his ministerial duties.

Meanwhile, a political source told The Daily Star Sunday that Sleiman was “furious” over Rifi’s refusal to carry out the president’s order to evacuate members of the ISF Information Branch from the telecoms building. The source added that Sleiman had been discussing taking judicial measures against Rifi which could result in the ISF chief being referred to the judiciary. “The president is now discussing taking judicial action against Rifi which could result in Rifi being referred to the judiciary,” the source told The Daily Star.

Rifi sounded defiant Sunday in the face of threats of prosecution for failing to comply with caretaker Baroud’s order to evacuate members of the ISF’s Information Branch from a telecoms building and maintained that he had acted according to law to protect state property. “I exercised my legal prerogatives. I did my national duty to protect the state property,” Rifi told The Daily Star.