Hizbollah Site Staff, 18-6-2009

Hizbullah MP Hassan Fadlallah called for getting the case of inadvertent killing of the First Lieutenant Samer Hanna by the resistance militant Mostapha Mokaddem out of the political and media exploitation and manipulation.

"After First Lieutenant Samer Hanna was killed, we quickly resorted to the judiciary and did not hide the identity of the person who committed the act," MP Fadlallah said from Nejmeh Square on Thursday.

Hanna was killed when Mustapha Hassan Mokaddem, a Hizbullah gunman, opened fire on his helicopter on August 28, 2008. The helicopter was flying over the village of Tilal Soujoud in southern Lebanon.

Fadlallah affirmed that military reports and investigations revealed that Hanna was accidently killed, adding that Mokaddem did not know that the helicopter belonged to the military.
The MP noted that Mokaddem turned himself in, and according to the law, he has the right to ask to be released after six months.

"We accepted the judiciary's sentence regarding the 2007 Mar Mikhael incident during which the Lebanese army shot six people," Fadlallah said. "We did not make a big deal out of it. I do not understand why the media is making all this noise regarding the issue, knowing that Mokaddem was only released on bail and was not pronounced innocent."

The MP accused some of taking advantage of the incident to mislead and deceive the people, saying that "making noise is an attempt to gain political and media advantages at an inappropriate time."
He revealed that both the military and judiciary institutions are being targeted and condemned the pressure being put on the judiciary.

"I am surprised that some want to annul the whole court proceedings," Fadlallah said.
He voiced hope that the case will not be discussed in the media.