Hezbollah Explosives Case: Lebanon Charges 13 Over 780-kg Truck Seizure

The Hezbollah explosives case moved to court on Friday, Oct. 30, when a Lebanese military prosecutor charged 13 people over a truck stopped with about 780 kilograms of explosives near Dahr al-Baidar, on the mountain highway linking Beirut with the Bekaa Valley and Syria, Al Jazeera reported. It is one of the most direct legal tests yet of the government’s ban on armed activity outside the state.

Judge Claude Ghanem, the government commissioner at the military court, filed the charges and referred the file to the chief military investigating judge, Ghada Abou Alouane. Only two suspects are in custody, identified in Lebanese reports as Haitham Amhaz and Ali al-Kurdi. The other 11 are at large, and five are known only by aliases.

What the Hezbollah explosives charges say

According to Al Jazeera and the Associated Press, the defendants are accused of belonging to an armed group without state authorization, transporting explosives and exposing Lebanon to the risk of hostile acts. The charge sheet cites Articles 228 and 335 of the Penal Code. If convicted, the accused face up to 10 years of hard labor, AFP reported, as cited by L’Orient Today. Prosecutors first named eight suspects before widening the case to 13; L’Orient Today later reported that all 13 are Hezbollah members. Those named include the alleged sender and recipient, the truck’s owner and two people in an escort car.

Security forces stopped the truck on Oct. 5. AP and Al Jazeera put the cargo at 780 kilograms, including 250 kilograms of TNT and 250 kilograms of C-4 plastic explosive; Arab News described it as about 800 kilograms. Initial findings indicated the shipment was headed for Beirut’s southern suburbs, but its final destination and intended use remain undetermined, L’Orient Today reported, citing a judicial source.

Sources: Al Jazeera, AP, Arab News, AFP via L’Orient Today. Table: The Boston Report

Hezbollah says the cargo was its own

Hezbollah did not deny ownership. On Oct. 15, its lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah acknowledged that the explosives belonged to the group and were meant for its “resistance” against Israel, while warning of the “consequences of pursuing” the case, according to L’Orient Today. After the charges were filed, Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan called them “unjust,” the outlets reported. The government’s August decision means that argument no longer protects armed activity outside state control under Lebanese policy.

The case has also split the cabinet. Justice Minister Adel Nassar sought to send the file to the Court of Justice, Lebanon’s top tribunal for crimes against state security. Ministers postponed that decision on Oct. 22, and ministers from the Lebanese Forces party boycotted the session in protest, according to L’Orient Today. The justice minister secured a promise from Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to raise the issue at every cabinet meeting. For now, the case proceeds through the military court.

Why the case matters for disarmament

In August, Lebanon’s cabinet banned military activity by Hezbollah. In June, Lebanon and Israel reached a framework agreement on security arrangements in the south, which Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem called “null and void.” Prosecuting people tied to a Hezbollah weapons shipment turns that policy into a court file with named defendants.

The pressure is also coming from outside. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged President Joseph Aoun “to hold accountable all those who ordered, funded and directed this delivery,” adding that “returning the explosives to Hezbollah should be out of the question,” L’Orient Today reported. Meanwhile, the south remains unsettled: more than 300,000 people are still displaced as the UN peacekeeping mission prepares to leave, as we reported in our Oct. 31 story on Lebanon displacement. Our earlier report on the stalled Lebanon-Israel pilot zone explains how disarmament talks have stalled before.

What happens next

Investigating judge Abou Alouane will question the defendants who can be reached and decide whether to issue arrest warrants for those at large. Watch for whether the cabinet revisits the Court of Justice referral, whether any of the 11 fugitives are detained, and how Hezbollah responds if arrests follow. A trial before the military court would be the first major prosecution tied to the August ban.

Sources

• Al Jazeera: Lebanon charges 13 over Hezbollah confiscated explosives
• Arab News: Hezbollah members charged under military law in 800-kg explosives case
• L’Orient Today: Lebanon charges 13 in Hezbollah explosives case
• AP: Lebanon’s military court charges suspects in Hezbollah explosives truck case