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BEIRUT: A threatening phone call to the Justice Ministry Tuesday turned out to be a false alarm, one day after 10 judges received threats from an anonymous caller.
An employee at the ministry’s switchboard received a phone call at 11:30 a.m. during which the caller threatened him to “evacuate the building immediately, or else.”
Caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar and Omar Natour, the ministry’s director general, who were in their offices at the time, were informed of the call and some ministry employees left the building, which is located near the National Museum.
The Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces responded, cordoning off the vicinity. Forensic teams, judicial police units, police dogs and explosive experts searched the five-floor building, as well as the parking lots, cars and the surrounding area, finding no explosive materials. Members of the ministry’s staff later returned to their offices.
Najjar confirmed the ministry received a phone call from an individual calling for evacuating the building.
Natour said that the ministry was not completely evacuated, “but we did not prevent some employees from leaving.” Meanwhile, General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza said that 10 judges had received phones calls Monday from an anonymous individual, who warned them against holding trials.
“This is the third time that such threats were made … Investigations are under way to reveal the identity of the person who made the threats, especially since the same phone number was used each time,” Mirza told the National News Agency.
Shortly after the false alarm at the Justice Ministry, Mohammad Nayef, an inmate in the Justice Palace’s jail, managed to escape from custody as he was being transported to the criminal court in the same building. The Justice Palace is located near the Justice Ministry. A judicial source told The Daily Star that Nayef, who is being tried for armed robbery, might have taken advantage of the commotion to flee.
A second source told The Daily Star that threats made against the judicial body, whether they were direct threats against judges or hoaxes warning of explosives at the Justice Ministry were “very dangerous and targeted the judicial authority as a whole.”
“This is because the judicial authority is the only one that is still functioning normally; the other authorities have already been disrupted,” the source added.
The source highlighted the necessity of dealing seriously with these threats and providing protection for members of the judiciary.
An employee at the ministry’s switchboard received a phone call at 11:30 a.m. during which the caller threatened him to “evacuate the building immediately, or else.”
Caretaker Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar and Omar Natour, the ministry’s director general, who were in their offices at the time, were informed of the call and some ministry employees left the building, which is located near the National Museum.
The Lebanese Army and the Internal Security Forces responded, cordoning off the vicinity. Forensic teams, judicial police units, police dogs and explosive experts searched the five-floor building, as well as the parking lots, cars and the surrounding area, finding no explosive materials. Members of the ministry’s staff later returned to their offices.
Najjar confirmed the ministry received a phone call from an individual calling for evacuating the building.
Natour said that the ministry was not completely evacuated, “but we did not prevent some employees from leaving.” Meanwhile, General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza said that 10 judges had received phones calls Monday from an anonymous individual, who warned them against holding trials.
“This is the third time that such threats were made … Investigations are under way to reveal the identity of the person who made the threats, especially since the same phone number was used each time,” Mirza told the National News Agency.
Shortly after the false alarm at the Justice Ministry, Mohammad Nayef, an inmate in the Justice Palace’s jail, managed to escape from custody as he was being transported to the criminal court in the same building. The Justice Palace is located near the Justice Ministry. A judicial source told The Daily Star that Nayef, who is being tried for armed robbery, might have taken advantage of the commotion to flee.
A second source told The Daily Star that threats made against the judicial body, whether they were direct threats against judges or hoaxes warning of explosives at the Justice Ministry were “very dangerous and targeted the judicial authority as a whole.”
“This is because the judicial authority is the only one that is still functioning normally; the other authorities have already been disrupted,” the source added.
The source highlighted the necessity of dealing seriously with these threats and providing protection for members of the judiciary.
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