President Michel Suleiman and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi have stressed that the cabinet cannot interfere in the judiciary’s work after the military appeals court’s presiding Judge Alice Shabtini released four members of the al-Alam family convicted of spying for Israel.
“No one can interfere in the work of the judicial authority. This is an independent body,” they said.
Suleiman and Qortbawi made their remarks at a cabinet session held at Baabda palace on Monday after Hizbullah ministers stirred the issue, As Safir daily reported.
The military court had sentenced the four family members to prison for 10 to 15 years. But they were released on bail last week after serving a jail term of only two years and 10 months.
Shabtini told An Nahar on Sunday that she didn’t take the decision to release them independently from the court. The decision was unanimous, she said.
She revealed that three of the released were very ill and the state was incurring heavy losses on their medications.
Several ministers complained on Monday about her remarks to the media but the cabinet didn’t take any decision on the issue, As Safir said.
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