Saudi Arabia has 'detained' PM : Lebanon prez
15 Nov 2017 5:04 PM GMT
BEIRUT: Lebanon's President Michel Aoun on Wednesday accused Saudi Arabia of having "detained" Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who announced his resignation in a statement from the kingdom earlier this month. "Nothing justifies the failure of Prime Minister Saad Hariri to return for 12 days, therefore we consider him to be held and detained, contrary to the Vienna Convention," Aoun said in a tweet on the official Lebanese presidency account.
Speculation has swirled about the circumstances of Hariri's resignation since his surprise announcement on November 4, in a statement read on Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabiya television station.
There have been rumours that the prime minister, who is a Saudi citizen and grew up in the kingdom, had been detained along with dozens of Saudis caught up in an arrest campaign that Riyadh says is part of its anti-corruption efforts. Hariri, who has long been close to Saudi authorities, has sought to quell the rumours, insisting in an interview with his party's television station over the weekend that he had freedom of movement and would return to Lebanon in the coming days.
But he has yet to show any signs of coming home, and statements from France and other countries have fuelled speculation that he is being held in Saudi Arabia. In his first tweet in several days, Hariri once again denied the rumours he was being detained. "Guys, I am perfectly fine, and God willing I will return in the coming days. Let's calm down," he wrote.
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