The young journalist did believe that he caused a mass to be hit with the hormone of admiration as he delivered his agitating speech.

Mohammad Allouch

The young journalist did believe that he caused a mass to be hit with the hormone of admiration as he delivered his agitating speech so that he unbridled his political madness, lameness, and adolescence to make his universal jump toward the unknown. From the platform of the Martyr's Palace, he crossed the wall of civil peace, and passed over the state and its institutions to quench the thirst to power from which his leaders in the "Blue Party" are suffering.

As soon as PM Siniora finished his speech, Koteich nervously took the microphone and said: "Hey guys, hey girls, let's go to the Serail" calling for toppling the government at the same night which led to riot and outrage as well as attacking the Serail and attempting to break in it.

On the level of the legal view to what had the "journalist" Nadim Koteich committed, we consulted the Head of the Hamourabi Center for Legal Studies and Researches, Lawyer Ibrahim Awada, who advised the following: "It was clear from the mass present at the funeral that their goal was likely to cause commotion rather than participating in the funeral especially that their slogans and expressions were unlawful for assaulting and offending some leaders, officials, and the PM in particular."

"After the Tripoli's Mufti and his speech in the funeral, Siniora's speech addressed the audience implicitly to topple the government and leading its Premier to resign. Next to him was Koteich, the dependable well-memorizing student who was able to pass his inflammatory speech directly after the Sinora's, calling the audience for heading toward the Serail and causing riots before entering it by all means," Awada added.

Legally speaking, the following articles of the Lebanese Penal Code are applicable to Koteich, even though the work of his provoked audience did not result in any negative aspect:

With respect to provoking, Article 217 mentions: He who caused or tried to cause somebody committing a crime is considered an abettor. The abettor's responsibility is different from the liability of the abettor to commit a crime.

Article 218: The abettor is penalized with the punishment of the crime he was provoking for whether the crime was complete, attempted, or incomplete.

In case provocation to commit a crime or a petty crime did not have results, then the penalty will be lessened according to what was mentioned in the terms 2, 3, and 4 of Article 220. Safety measures are taken against the abettor as if he was the criminal.

Therefore, Koteich holds the responsibility of all the acts the demonstrators had done, even the attempt to break in the Serail and attacking the Internal Security Forces members and causing riot in the street. The applicable article is 219 of the Penal Code, modified according to the legislative decree 112 on 16/9/1983 which provides:

Involved in a crime and a petty crime are:
1. He who ordered to commit it even though his orders didn't help in it
2. He who encouraged the criminal by any mean
3. He who accepted the criminal's offer to commit a crime in return of any materialistic or incorporeal interest
4. He who helped the criminal in the acts that prepared or facilitated the crime
5. He who had a deal with the criminal or any other involved partner before committing the crime, and contributed to hiding its evidences or hiding or disposing what resulted from the crime, or hiding the persons involved in it from justice
6. He who knew beforehand the criminals' criminal biographies who are used to cross the roads and commit violence against the country's security or public safety, or even against members and properties.

Article 220: The involved who, without his help the crime wasn't committed, is penalized the same as the criminal himself.
As for the other involved persons, they are sentenced to hard labor for life, or permanently from 10 to 20 years in case the criminal is sentenced to death.

In case the criminal was sentenced to hard labor for life, or life imprisonment, those who are involved in the same crime are sentenced from 7 to 15 years.

In other cases, they are sentenced as the criminal after it is lessened from 1/6 to 1/3, as it is possible to be subjected to safety measures as if they were the criminals themselves.

According to Article 304: He who provokes or involves in the attack that aims at preventing the authorities from practicing its job that originates from the constitution is sentenced to temporary arrest or proscription.
Article 305: He who plans for committing any of the previously mentioned crimes is sentenced to proscription or criminal house arrest.

Koteich's speech and agitation almost led to sectarian and confessional war and commotion which we had witnessed a day after his agitation. Article 308 provides: Hard labor for life is the punishment of the attack that either targets agitating civil war or sectarian fighting by arming the Lebanese or motivating them to be armed against one another, or motivates killing and robbery in a place or many places, and in case the attack took place, the abettor is sentenced to death.

According to the following articles, an abettor is:

Article 309: He who had led or was involved in armed groups, whether a simple individual or a leader, that aimed at invading a town or a neighborhood or any of the country's properties or the properties of people, or aimed at attacking or resisting the public power confronting those criminals is sentenced to hard labor for life.

Article 310: He who was involved in armed gangs that emerged in order to commit the crimes mentioned in Articles 308 and 309, is sentenced to hard labor for life. He who didn't have a job or didn't serve the gang, and wasn't arrested in the places of turmoil, and gave up his weapon without resistance is exempted from this punishment.

This was what we had witnessed by the gangs that attempted to disconnect roads, judge according to the identity, disconnecting the parts of the country, and opening fire on the army.

Part 5: With respect to the crimes that affect national unity, cause turmoil in the country, and reveal the crime of abetting sectarianism, according to the following article:

Article 317 - modified according to the law issued on 1/12/1954 and the law 239 issued on 27/5/1993, every act, script, or speech causes agitating sectarianism, racism, or confessional and national clashes, is penalized from one to three-years imprisonment and a fine that ranges from 100,000 to 800,000 L.L., as well as being forbidden from practicing the rights mentioned in items 2 and 4 in the Article 65. And the court can publicizing the sentence.

Every person attacked any member of the Internal Security Forces or the Army is trialed in the military courts according to the legislative decree 110 issued on 30/6/1977. Identifying the power of the military judiciary in the crimes committed against members of the Internal Security Forces, General Security, or civil employees that are related to the Internal Security or General Security:

Article 1- Members of Internal Security Forces or General Security and their related civil employees are trialed by the military judiciary for:
1. Crimes mentioned in the second section of the third book of the Law of Military Judiciary
2. Committed crimes
Turned to the military judiciary are the:
- Crimes committed against members of the Internal Security Forces and General Security during their service and due to it
- Crimes committed against the permanent and temporary offices of Internal Security Forces and General Security, even the prisons.
- Crimes committed against constructions, ordnances, tools, money, and the incorporeal interest of the Internal Security Forces and the General Security. Article 3 - Every original actor or partner involved in or abetting to a crime in which any of the members mentioned in Articles 1 and 2 of this legislative decree are transmitted to the military judiciary, are trialed by the military judiciary.

Article 2 - Referred to the military judiciary are:
1- Crimes committed against members of the Internal Security Forces and General Security during their service and due to it.
2- Crimes committed against the permanent and temporary offices of Internal Security Forces and General Security, even the prisons.
3- Crimes committed against constructions, ordnances, tools, money, and the incorporeal interest of the Internal Security Forces and the General Security.

Article 3 - Every original actor or partner involved in or abetting to a crime in which any of the members mentioned in Articles 1 and 2 of this legislative decree are transmitted to the military judiciary, are trialed by the military judiciary.

Article 4- Military Judiciary considers the crimes mentioned in the law issued on 11/1/1958 referring to commotion and terrorism.

Consequently, Koteich's act is classified between agitation and interference, thus all of these acts are applied on him especially that agitation took place in the presence of security and political officials, and political leaders who didn't object his act. Therefore, it is intended to the Preferential Public Prosecution in Beirut to be considered a notification until the security authorities are commissioned to conduct investigation with him and transmitting him to the security references to be inquired for committing agitation and interference in what was previously mentioned.

Translated by Zeinab Abdallah