UNITED AGAINST CORRUPTION ALLIANCE (MOUTTAHIDOUN): Tripoli and Minieh Waste Cases: North Lebanon’s First Investigating Judge Recuses Himself; Airport’s Costa Brava Landfill: Disastrous Composting Plant Stopped

On September 18, 2026, lawyers representing the United Against Corruption Alliance (Mouttahidoun) were officially notified that Judge Naji Al-Dahdah, First Investigating Judge of North Lebanon, had recused himself from the Tripoli and Minieh solid-waste cases.

The decision followed documented allegations of pressure and interference. The two files have been referred to two other investigating judges in North Lebanon, who are now responsible for continuing the proceedings and taking the necessary legal measures.

The decision follows a series of incidents that the Alliance has documented and reported to the Judicial Inspection Authority, with copies submitted to the Higher Judicial Council and the Ministry of Justice. These include allegations of pressure, attempts to influence proceedings, interference with case files, and irregularities described as instances of “judicial forgery,” as well as alleged tampering with—and, in some cases, concealment of—documents relating to the waste cases.

The Pursuit of Accountability Continues

The proceedings concern, among others, Jihad Al-Arab and his company JCC, as well as Rania and Shadi Abu Mosleh and their company AMB, alongside other parties named in the proceedings, including the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) and its former president, Nabil El-Jisr.

Criminal charges were filed by the Environmental Public Prosecutors, Judges Ghassan Bassil and Fadi Malcoun, against Al-Arab and his codefendants concerning the Tripoli, Minieh and Costa Brava waste files. Jdeideh-Bouchrieh-Bourj Hammoud waste management was brought to court and follow-ups have been in process.

Rafik Hariri International Airport Composting Plant Halted

The Alliance lawyers are also pursuing related environmental and financial complaints before the competent prosecutorial and judicial authorities. Their efforts brought the “disastrous” Composting Plant at Rafik Hariri International Airport—operated by Al-Arab and his company—to a halt. Their focus now shifts to determining the liability regarding the squandering and embezzlement of public funds associated with it.

A Public Health and Environmental Crisis That Can No Longer Be Treated as Inevitable

For years, Lebanon’s waste crisis has exposed communities and the environment to serious risks, including fires, toxic smoke, leachate, soil and water contamination, damage to the coastline and harm to marine ecosystems.

Repeated fires at waste sites, including Tripoli, Bourj Hammoud and, most recently, Saida, demonstrate that the waste crisis is not merely a matter of poor waste management. It is also a matter of public health, environmental protection and legal accountability.

Lebanon is also facing a serious and growing cancer burden. According to the World Health Organization, 16,226 new cancer cases were recorded in Lebanon in 2024, with cancer incidence having doubled over the past two decades.

Pollution is not an abstraction. It affects the air we breathe, the water we drink, the sea on which communities depend and ultimately people's health.

From llegal Action to a Genuine Alternative

The Alliance is not limiting its work to legal proceedings. Its founder, Rami Ollaik, and his team are finalizing a comprehensive dossier on Lebanon’s waste crisis, examining current waste-management practices and setting out scientifically grounded approaches for safer, more sustainable waste treatment.

The technical component is being developed under the supervision of Professor Ragy Darwish, an expert who has worked extensively on environmental and waste-management issues in Lebanon.

As the “Waste Mafia” Continues Its Transgressions, the Alliance’s Objective Remains Unchanged

The Alliance's objective is therefore twofold:

1.    Establish the facts and responsibilities

2.    Help build a genuine alternative

That said, the Alliance, like the Lebanese people who stand alongside it, is not asking for any privilege. It is asking for the law to be enforced.