Telecom Data Renews Debate between Sehnaoui, March 14
Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui slammed on Friday the March 14 forces’ accusations that he would be held responsible for preventing the security forces from obtaining the telecom data.
“The ministry will deal with the issue according to principles and will not back down on implementing the law,” Sehnaoui told As Safir newspaper.
He reiterated that the telecom data will only be given to security authorities if the competent judicial authorities ordered that.
The issue emerged to the surface again after Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea escaped an assassination attempt.
On Thursday, the March 14-led opposition held Sehnaoui and those who support him responsible for preventing the security forces and authorities from obtaining the telecom data in their probe into assassination attempts.
As Safir newspaper reported that a senior security source lashed out at Sehnaoui accusing him of being “irresponsible.”
“We are demanding to obtain a source of information that could have a valuable role in implementing preventive security measures and tracking down crimes,” the source said.
The source wondered why Hizbullah and some other security authorities can obtain the data while the Internal Security Forces are banned, saying that “the judicial authority only has an advisory role.”
For his part, Head of the Audit Bureau Judge Aouni Ramadan told the daily that the telecommunications minister has no role in blocking the telecom data from a security authority as the decision doesn’t go back to him.
Interior Minister Marwan Charbel stressed to As Safir that the cabinet’s decision regarding the issue “isn’t questionable.”
“Only the competent judicial authority is qualified to decide on exposing the telecom data (to a certain security authority) as it will not delay discussing the matter once an application is submitted,” Charbel said.
The data dispute had stirred political controversy over the legality of providing the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch with the telecommunications records.
The cabinet agreed in February on forming a judicial commission that would receive the records of some 3.4 million subscribers and decide whether to hand them over to the security agencies or not.
It also formed a ministerial committee headed by Prime Minister Najib Miqati and comprising the ministers of justice, interior, defense and telecommunications, tasking it with following up the issue.
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