NNA – Caretaker Justice Minister Henri Khoury on Tuesday stressed that he did whatrsquo;s needed to ldquo;preserve the Lebanese statersquo;s rights,rdquo; amid a row with caretaker PM Najib Mikati over hiring lawyers to represent the Lebanese state in the case of the Paris-held assets of Central Bank chief Riad Salameh.
Speaking at a press conference, Khoury denied that there is a lack of information surrounding the lawyers.
ldquo;This is incorrect and we have sent the information to the Premiership,rdquo; the minister said.
ldquo;The lawyer Emmanuel Daoud is not a Jew but rather a Catholic from an Algerian father and a French mother. He had been hired in a lawsuit against Israel to the benefit of Palestinian activist Salah Hammouri and he had previously filed a lawsuit against the CIA for bombing Iraq,rdquo; Khoury said.
ldquo;We are ready to submit information regarding the CVs of the lawyers Emmanuel Daoud and Pascal Buffet,rdquo; the minister added.
ldquo;The CVs of the two lawyers have been deliberately distorted and the aim is to delay the files that the French courts are looking into,rdquo; Khoury went on to say.
ldquo;We have signed the contracts and they are still in effect. Irsquo;m clinging to them and will not back down,rdquo; he emphasized.
Informed sources have told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper that Mikati was dismayed after ldquo;the justice minister unilaterally hired the lawyers Emmanuel Daoud and Pascal Buffet without following the legal channels that are used in such cases.rdquo;
The procedures ldquo;should have started with a suggestion with the names of the lawyers from Justice Ministry Director General Judge Mohammed al-Masri to get the ministerrsquo;s approval before referring the file to Cabinet to issue an appointment decree,rdquo; the source said.
Mikati had invited Khoury and the rest of ministers to a Cabinet session on Wednesday to discuss the appointment of the lawyers as a sole topic. Khoury, however, said that he would continue to boycott Cabinet sessions in line with the Free Patriotic Movementrsquo;s decision and the premier announced a postponement of the session in the wake of Khouryrsquo;s press conference.mdash;agenciesnbsp;
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