Lebanon: Solidarity press conference held by supporters and lawyers of USUP President Ibrahim Mrad over his unlawful interrogation by Lebanese judiciary

BEIRUT — A press conference was held on Monday at the Universal Syriac Union Party’s (USUP) headquarters in Beirut in solidarity with Secretary General of the Christian Front and USUP leader Ibrahim Mrad, who was summoned for questioning without reasonable cause by Lebanese judicial authorities last week.

The press conference was attended by representatives of various Christian political parties and a large crowd of sympathizers with the outspoken positions and policies regarding a free and independent Lebanon, publicly expressed by the Front, USUP, and its leader.

Present were representatives of the Lebanese Forces, Kataeb, Guardians of the Cedars, Continual Federal Congress, and the Assyrian League. Together, more than 400 people were present inside and outside USUP’s headquarters in Beirut. USUP official Leila Latte opened the press conference and thanked those present and all the political representatives who came to express solidarity with Ibrahim Mrad.

Full support to #Ibrahim_Mrad with great lawyers Georges Bittar and Gaby Geagea and journalist @TonyBouloss #كلنا_ابراهيم_مراد pic.twitter.com/Ud27pj92AZ

— ܬܐܘܕܪܘܣ ܒܪܝܘܠܝܘܣ ܐܠܟܣܢܕܪ Amine Bar-Julius Iskandar (@Amineiskandar2) January 23, 2023

In his statement, USUP Secretary General and lawyer Michel Mallo denounced the double standard and unfairness of the unjust interrogation of his party’s president Ibrahim Mrad, who merely calls for peaceful coexistence and denounced Hezbollah’s abuse of Lebanon’s political and economic system. Why is the judiciary not cracking down on the crimes and repressive actions of this armed Iran-proxy that keeps the country under gunfire, Mallo asked.

Change Movement head and lawyer Elie Mahfoud denounced the court’s illegal action, stating that the faked video circulated on social media was fabricated by Hezbollah, which illegally occupies the country by force.

Secretary General of the Guardians of the Cedars and lawyer Maroun Al-Gamil read the statement of the Christian Front for Lebanon in solidarity and unity with its Secretary General Ibrahim Mrad. In his speech, Al-Gamil raised the question of who the real target is here? The Christian Front or the Sovereign Front for Lebanon? Lebanon’s Christians or all free-thinking citizens?

Secretary General of the Sovereign Front Camille Dory Shamoun (National Liberal Party) concluded the press conference with a speech calling on the court to find the real perpetrator of crimes in Lebanon, no matter how big the crime.

The Universal Syriac Union Party is an affiliate of the Bethnahrin National Council and advocates an independent and federal Lebanon, free of external influences.