
LEGAL COMPLAINT: Lebanese Banker Targeted Over Meeting With Netanyahu
More than a dozen Lebanese lawyers filed a complaint Wednesday against prominent banker Antoun Sehnaoui, accusing him of violating Lebanese law by meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington this week, according to the Associated Press.
The complaint was filed with the prosecutor’s office in Beirut and accuses Sehnaoui of contacting and dealing with Israel, violating Lebanon’s boycott law, committing treason and carrying out offenses against state security.
Lebanese law prohibits citizens from maintaining contact with Israelis, as the two countries technically remain at war. A 1955 law banning dealings with Israel provides for prison sentences of up to 10 years.
A photograph posted online showed Sehnaoui seated at a restaurant table with Netanyahu and his wife, Sara. Sehnaoui and former U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus reportedly hosted a dinner Monday in memory of the late Senator Lindsey Graham, attended by Netanyahu and American officials.
Attorney Hassan Bazzi said Sehnaoui had violated the law and offended national sentiment, adding that the lawyers expect prosecutors to act “effectively and swiftly.” Another attorney, Mohammed Hajj Hassan, described the meeting as “a public offense” and said an investigation could ultimately lead to an arrest warrant.
It remains unclear how prosecutors will handle the complaint. Lebanese authorities have previously issued arrest warrants in similar cases involving citizens who were outside the country. A Lebanese Foreign Ministry official declined to comment.
The complaint comes as Israel and Lebanon are engaged in U.S.-backed direct talks aimed at ending the fighting, disarming Hezbollah, securing an IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon and advancing toward a peace agreement.
Sehnaoui, who has largely been based in the United States in recent years, maintains business interests in Lebanon and abroad in banking, media and film.
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