Ali Eid Summoned for Hearing in Mosques Blasts Case
Judge Alaa al-Khatib, the judicial investigator into the bombings that rocked Tripoli's al-Salam and al-Taqwa mosques, on Thursday summoned Arab Democratic Party chief Ali Eid to a hearing session as a “defendant.”
Should Eid fail to show up at the January 10 session, the judge would take the appropriate legal measure, state-run National News Agency reported.
The judge might issue an in absentia arrest warrant against him, NNA added.
Controversy had erupted on Wednesday on whether or not Eid's previous arrest warrant was withdrawn. But the justice minister clarified that the move was a “routine measure.”
“The case of the bombings of al-Salam and al-Taqwa mosques was referred to the Judicial Council, which shifts jurisdiction over the case from the Military Court to the judicial investigator,” Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi explained.
According to media reports, Eid fled to Syria in 2014, accompanied by his son, the party's politburo chief Rifaat Eid.
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr had indicted 21 people in the case.
On February 24, First Military Examining Magistrate Riyad Abou Ghida issued an arrest warrant in absentia for Ali Eid.
The warrant was based on the content of the lawsuit that was filed against him by the military prosecution in connection with the alleged smuggling of suspects wanted over Tripoli's twin bombings.
On August 23, 2013, two car bombs exploded outside the al-Taqwa and al-Salam mosques in Tripoli, leaving 45 people dead and more than 800 injured.
Y.R.
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