Lawsuit Filed Against Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General for Threatening Lebanon with Civil War

20th August 2025

3 minutes read

Lawsuit Filed Against Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General for Threatening Lebanon with Civil War

A group of lawmakers and political figures announced on Tuesday, following an emergency meeting, that they will file a complaint with Lebanon’s Court of Cassation against Hezbollah’s Deputy Secretary-General, Sheikh Naim Qassem, over recent statements they deemed a direct threat to national security.

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The meeting, held at MP and former General Ashraf Rifi’s office in Achrafieh, Beirut, brought together several deputies and representatives of the so-called “Sovereign Front,” including MPs Georges Oqaïs, Camille Chamoun, Elie Khoury, former MP Eddy Abillama, along with lawyers Elie Mahfoud and Abdelmajid Awad.

In their final statement, the participants argued that Qassem’s latest remarks “bordered on incitement to civil war and sectarian strife,” thereby placing “Lebanon and its citizens at grave risk.”

Speaking on behalf of the group, lawyer and “Change” Movement leader Elie Mahfoud stated:

“At this critical juncture in Lebanon’s history, in the midst of the most significant effort to free the country from decades of Iranian domination—marked by repression, assassinations, and invasions—and with the promise of a new era under a sovereign president, Joseph Aoun, a courageous Prime Minister, Nawaf Salam, and a government determined to end the aberration of illegal arms held by an armed organization sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran, Sheikh Naim Qassem has issued threats endangering the Lebanese people as a whole.”

He stressed that “remaining silent or complacent in the face of Sheikh Qassem’s actions would expose the Lebanese to imminent danger.” Consequently, the group resolved to seek immediate judicial recourse “before it is too late.”

The complaint, to be filed under multiple provisions of the Lebanese Penal Code (Articles 288, 295, 303, 307, and 317, in conjunction with Article 24 and subsequent provisions of Law 137/59 as amended), will target Qassem and any individual identified by the investigation as a partner, instigator, or perpetrator. MP Rifi has been tasked with coordinating outreach to fellow lawmakers to advance the case.

This legal move comes amid escalating political tensions. On August 5, the government instructed the army to draft a plan to ensure that, by year’s end, all weapons would be confined exclusively to six state security agencies. Two days later, it endorsed the principles of a document delivered earlier by U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack, aimed at reinforcing and extending the cessation of hostilities agreed on November 27, 2024, in pursuit of a comprehensive and lasting settlement.

Both decisions triggered sharp political divides, with Hezbollah rejecting them outright. On August 15, Naim Qassem declared that “the resistance will never surrender its weapons,” threatening to wage a “Karbala-style battle” against what he described as the “Israeli-American project.” He further held the Lebanese government “fully responsible for any sedition, internal explosion, or destruction.”

Once the country’s most powerful political and military force, backed heavily by Damascus and Tehran, Hezbollah has been weakened following its most recent conflict with Israel, which resulted in the loss of several senior commanders and the destruction of a significant portion of its arsenal.

The current confrontation underscores a deeper struggle over Lebanon’s identity and future: between those advocating for the state’s sovereignty and monopoly over arms, and those insisting on the necessity of maintaining a parallel armed force, portrayed as essential to Lebanon’s defense against external threats.