Beirut: Lebanon’s Maronite Patriarch Says Judges Must Be Left to Work

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric, Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, said on Sunday that the judiciary should be free of political interference and sectarian “activism” amid tensions over a probe into last year’s blast at Beirut port. The Maronite patriarch also said it was unacceptable for anyone to resort to threats or violence. In Lebanon’s worst street violence in over a decade, seven people were shot dead last week as protesters headed to a rally opposing the inquiry. “We must free the judiciary from political interference, sectarian and partisan political activism and respect its independence according to the principle of separation of powers,”…