Chief Investigator Into Karami Murder Decides to Resign
The state prosecutor in charge of the judicial inquiry into the murder of Lebanese Premier Rashid Karami said Saturday that he will resign from the investigation.
“I am heading to the Justice Ministry to submit my resignation,” Munif Oweidat said. “My resignation is final and irrevocable.” He gave no further details.
Karami, a Sunni Muslim and close ally of Syria, was killed by a bomb planted on an army helicopter June 1, and President Amin Gemayel ordered military and judicial investigations.
But the process came under withering criticism from Karami’s allies and Gemayel’s political adversaries, with several politicians saying the matter was being deliberately stalled.
Muslim politicians have accused the army and the Christian Lebanese Forces militia of responsibility for Karami’s murder, while Druze militia chief Walid Jumblatt blamed Gemayel.
Local newspapers quoted Omar Karami, the premier’s brother, as describing Oweidat as a member of an “orchestra of procrastinators” trying to hold up the murder probe.
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