14-07-2025
Samy Gemayel files complaint against Sheikh Faisal Shukur
BEIRUT — MP Samy Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb Party filed a legal complaint Monday against a Shiite cleric from the Bekaa Valley with close ties to Hezbollah, Faisal Shukur, who, about a week earlier, had delivered a speech threatening any official who called for the disarmament of the group.
The Shukur's statement sparked controversy over the weekend after a video of the speech circulated online. The sheikh made the comments on July 6 during a ceremony marking the 10th day of Ashura.
"To those inside the country who keep repeating the words 'disarmament,' we have two words for you: we will tear out your souls. Because everything can be the subject of joking, discussion or dialogue — except weapons," Shukur said.
Gemayel, a vocal critic of Hezbollah, filed the complaint through his lawyer, Bachir Mourad, with the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassations. The complaint also targets any individuals identified by the investigation as perpetrators, accomplices, instigators or participants.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), the complaint denounces "death threats, incitement to violence and murder, stoking sectarian tensions, as well as endangering the security, sovereignty, unity or borders of the state."
A copy of the video was submitted as evidence, along with a detailed list of relevant articles from the Penal Code, including Articles 574, 575, 317, 308, 329, 217 and 218, which relate to threats, incitement to violence and the provocation of sectarian tensions.
Comments 'go beyond the scope of freedom of expression'
According to the complaint, the remarks made by Shukur "go beyond the scope of freedom of expression."
The excerpt from Shukur's speech drew widespread reactions online on Saturday. Journalist Rami Naim, who is close to the Lebanese Forces (LF), called for Shukur's arrest. "Hezbollah is a danger to Lebanon and its leaders have lost their minds after their defeat, act now before it's too late," he wrote on X.
Mohammad Barakat, editor-in-chief of the news site Asas Media and also a known critic of Hezbollah, said Shukur's statement should be treated by the judiciary as "a threat to eliminate the entire Lebanese people, including the presidency and the government."
By contrast, dozens of internet users supportive of Hezbollah praised the position taken by the Bekaa cleric.
The controversy comes amid mounting pressure — both domestic and international — on Lebanese authorities to dismantle Hezbollah's weapons arsenal, an issue that continues to polarize the country's political landscape. Hezbollah has maintained that it will not give up its arms as long as Israeli forces continue their airstrikes, near-daily shelling, and occupation in southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, the United States is keeping steady political pressure on the Lebanese government, urging it to accelerate disarmament efforts led by the Lebanese Army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) south of the Litani River.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who has repeatedly stressed the importance of the state's exclusive control over weapons, appears to be pursuing dialogue with Hezbollah — apparently in an effort to avoid a wider security fallout.
