Foreign Ministry: No Legal Proceedings Against Lebanon's Ambassador to Washington

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates clarified in a statement that “circulated news regarding judicial proceedings against Lebanon’s ambassador to the United States, Nada Hamadeh Muawad, is inaccurate.” The ministry stressed that “taking any judicial measure against public officials requires explicit approval from the competent minister, in accordance with established legal procedures.” It also affirmed that “Ambassador Muawad’s mandate was issued by the President of the Republic, in agreement with the Prime Minister, and in line with relevant constitutional provisions.”

The U.S. State Department condemned the referral of Lebanese Ambassador Muawad to the Lebanese military judiciary, stating that “targeting a diplomat for implementing her government’s legitimate policy and participating in U.S.-led negotiations is deeply troubling.”

Earlier, lawyer Hassan Adel Bazzi filed a complaint with the Lebanese Court of Cassation’s Public Prosecution against Lebanon’s ambassador to Washington, following reports of her contact with the Israeli ambassador to Washington and her condemnation of the stabbing of his son in the West Bank. The Chief Public Prosecutor, Judge Ahmad Ramy Al-Hajj, referred the complaint to the Government Commissioner at the Military Court, Judge Claude Ghannam, for review and appropriate legal action.

Ambassador Muawad visited the U.S. State Department yesterday and held discussions on the verification mechanism for the tripartite agreement ahead of the military meeting in Tampa, Florida, scheduled for October 20–22.