Release of Amal Shaaban with Financial Bail

The investigating judge in Beirut, Assad Beyram, issued a decision to release Amal Shaaban, head of the Equivalency Department at the Ministry of Education, who was detained on charges of accepting bribes in exchange for certifying the equivalency of degrees for Iraqi students, upon a financial bail of 100 million Lebanese pounds. In the session on Thursday, Judge Beyram interrogated eight non-detained employees of the Equivalency Department who are defendants in the same case. Their testimonies all converged on the fact that Shaaban did not receive any money for certifying the degrees. The decision has been referred to the Public Prosecution in Beirut for review and approval. Shaaban will remain detained if the Public Prosecution overturns the decision, which would then be referred to the Criminal Court for adjudication.