Legal Move Against Individuals Who Targeted Patriarch Rahi
Sources told MTV that Head of the Change Movement, lawyer Elie Mahfoud, is preparing, alongside a team of party lawyers, to file a complaint before the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation in the coming days.
The complaint will target all individuals allegedly involved in insulting or defaming the Maronite Patriarch, whether through caricatures, statements, media content, or social media posts. It is expected to include anyone identified by the investigation as a perpetrator, partner, or instigator, with calls for the strictest legal measures, including arrest and prosecution.
According to sources, Mahfoud intends to pursue the case to its full judicial conclusion, stressing what he considers an infringement on “religious and national symbols.”
Legally, the move is based on provisions of the Lebanese Penal Code that criminalize public insult of religious symbols and the violation of religious sentiments, particularly when committed through public dissemination. In some cases, such acts may also fall under charges related to disturbing civil peace or inciting sectarian tension.
It is also worth noting that Mahfoud previously pursued a similar legal action against union leader Bechara El Asmar over statements deemed offensive to the late Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, a case that at the time led to his arrest, according to legal sources.
