Tamraz witness forgets facts

The endurical military court resumed on July 16 the trial of fugitive Lebanese-American businessman Roger Tamraz and three alleged accomplices on charges of passport fraud in 1987.

Tamraz, general security inspectors Antoine Ayoub and Beshara Dagher, and businessman Mario Simonedes are suspected of stealing stamps and 1,000 passports from the general security and then selling them.

Ayoub is suspected of staging the theft on the orders of the others.

During the July 16 sitting, which took place in the presence of Dagher only, since the other defendants are abroad, a number of witnesses testified.

General security Brig. Jean Mikhail, who was in charge of the department's security in 1987, told the court that an investigation into the robbery was not held at the time because he was abroad. He also claimed that he had forgotten most of the circumstances of the incident "because it happened a long time ago."

General security Adj Youssef Abdullah, a former security officer at the department, said gatekeepers cannot be blamed for the theft as the room where passports were kept was open to all.

The presiding judge, Brig. Zeid Halawi, adjourned the trial until July 22 for the lawyers' closing arguments.