Mikati praised Brigadier Charbel for ensuring recent stability Beirut – Georges Chahine Lebanon’s General Prosecutor Judge Madi told security chiefs that practical steps will be taken to accelerate the trial of detained Islamists. The bimonthly meeting of Lebanese security officials was held on Wednesday afternoon at the headquarters of the Directorate General of State Security. It was attended by the General Prosecutor, Judge Hatem Madi, the Head of the Internal Security Forces, Major General Ashraf Rifi, and the head of the military intelligence, Brigadier General Edmond Fadel, amongst others.
According to a statement from the Department of Information of the General Directorate of State Security, the meeting also discussed “the necessity of extending the Cabinet’s decision regarding giving telecommunication data to the security services." Major General Ibrahim confirmed his “ongoing follow-up on the issue of Talkalakh and the kidnapped Lebanese in Izaz." Moreover, the meeting addressed the "security measures taken during the festive period, as well as focusing on coordination between all security services at this critical stage in order to achieve stability in the country."
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati met yesterday evening with the Ministry of the Interior's Brigadier Marwan Charbel to discuss the security situation in the country. The Minister briefed the Prime Minister on the actions taken on occasions and public holidays, and Mikati praised the efforts of the security forces in ensuring stability during the festive period.
A well informed source told Arabstoday that Charbel asked the Prime Minister to support his position in the Cabinet meeting today, which will address the extension of the time set to receive the overall telecommunications data. All security chiefs agreed unanimously on this request and asked the Minister of the Interior to discuss the issue with the cabinet to ensure monitoring of terrorist networks continued.
Charbel notified Mikati of the decision of the families of the kidnapped Lebanese citizens in Syria as they decided to "suspend their actions against the Turkish authorities temporarily” at his request, in order to give a chance for a thorough follow- up on this file, in the hope that the file is closed at the earliest opportunity by the Turkish authorities.