Monday, May 30, 2011

Lebanon's Police Chief faces legal action for 'disobedience'

(AFP) - " Lebanon's police chief is facing legal action linked to an alleged secret telecoms network after the president referred the case to the justice ministry on Monday. President Michel Sleiman asked the justice minister to take the necessary measures against General Ashraf Rifi after the police chief refused to pull his troops from a state-controlled building where the network is based...  Hezbollah and its Christian ally, former army commander Michel Aoun, have accused Rifi's police force -- considered close to Saudi-backed caretaker premier Saad Hariri -- of using what would be a state-owned network for their personal ends. Lebanon, which has one of the world's priciest telecoms sectors, has two private mobile service providers, Alfa and MTC Touch. State-run telecommunications provider OGERO has said the second floor of its building in Beirut housed staff working on the third network, funded by China. OGERO has said the network is still being tested, but Aoun has raised suspicion that the network is already in use by Hariri (allegations of over 50,000 lines in use)..."

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