Lebanese Democratic Party leader Talal Arslan stressed on his resolve for the Qabr Shamoun case to be referred to the Higher Judicial Council so that justice takes its course.

During a press conference following his meeting with Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri and State Minister Saleh Al-Gharib in Ain Al-Tineh, Arslan told reporters that the meeting was aimed at discussing and reviewing the Qabr Shamoun case and its fallout.

He emphasized the importance of the Higher Judicial Council’s ruling given that the army and the security forces’ reports categorized the incident as a criminal case that disrupts civil peace and state security.

“What happened is a direct attack against the people and the state security. It is illogical to claim that the incident was unintentional or the result of a random gunfire when the Minister’s car was shot 19 times,” Arslan questioned.

The LDP leader demanded that everyone be called for questioning starting with Minister Saleh Gharib down to everyone who was involved in the clashes, describing the incident as an ambush and an assassination attempt against a minister of the Lebanese government.

“We are waiting for the decision of the Judicial Council to be taken and the fear entailed by the referral only affirms that political interferences are being molded,” he warned.

Arslan explained that previous mediation attempts by Berri and General Security chief Abbas Ibrahim had failed.

In response, Progressive Socialist Party chief Walid Jumblat slammed Arslan’s statement, urging him to respect people and their intelligence.

“The Qabr Shamoun incident is the result of a rampant corruption in some military protests down to the Choueifat crime in which the perpetrator escaped to Syria,” Jumblat wrote on Twitter in reference to last year’s Choueifat crime whose perpetrator, a Lebanese Democratic Party “security” official close to LDP leader Talal Arslan, identified as Amine Souki, is still at large and believed to be in Syria.

“I recommend joining the two cases and let the relevant authorities decide on this matter even if the Judicial Council was requested for both cases,” Jumblat added.