Long targeted by a segment of the Lebanese political class, banking sector, and press, former Attorney General of Mount Lebanon, Ghada Aoun, responded on Tuesday via the social media platform X to the tribute paid to her in the pages of Nidaa Al-Watan. This recognition is highly symbolic for the magistrate who, over the years, has become one of the most determined figures in the fight against corruption in Lebanon.
In her message, Ghada Aoun first quotes a verse from Psalm 37: "Because your justice will shine like the light." She then expresses her gratitude to businessman Omar Harfouch, whose legal action was praised in an article published in Nidaa Al-Watan.
"A salute of recognition and gratitude to Mr. Omar Harfouch, who stood by my side in the darkest circumstances, when they were trying to suppress and distort the truth," she wrote in Arabic.
The magistrate also claims that Omar Harfouch mobilized his resources to "bring the voice of law and justice to the highest international authorities," despite, she adds, the injustices he himself suffered at the hands of those she describes as a "mafia group."
She concluded her message with a phrase borrowed from the imagery of resistance and hope: "The night will inevitably dissipate and the chains will break."
A highly symbolic publication
This reaction takes on a particular significance given Nidaa Al-Watan's recent history. For several years, the Lebanese daily adopted an extremely hostile stance towards Ghada Aoun and her investigations. The magistrate was the target of repeated criticism, especially after the proceedings she initiated against figures in the banking and financial sector.
The publication, in the same newspaper, of an article now presenting Ghada Aoun as one of the main figures in the fight against impunity therefore constitutes a spectacular editorial reversal.
The latest issue of Nidaa Al-Watan also published an exclusive interview with French lawyer William Bourdon, known for his work on international corruption and "ill-gotten gains" cases. In this interview, the lawyer pays tribute to the Lebanese magistrates who, sometimes in great isolation, have tried to advance the investigations targeting the former governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Riad Salameh, and his associates.
William Bourdon cites Ghada Aoun in particular, alongside magistrates Jean Tannous and Hélène Iskandar, stating that they faced multiple obstacles in their fight against impunity.
"This arrest is a first step in the right direction, after the many obstructions faced by magistrates Ghada Aoun, Jean Tannous and Hélène Iskandar," he said regarding the latest legal developments concerning former Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salamé.
A magistrate who refused to remain silent
Appointed Attorney General of Mount Lebanon in 2017, Ghada Aoun distinguished herself by initiating or supporting several sensitive investigations related to banks, financial transfers, and the management of public funds. She focused particularly on cases involving high-ranking political figures, heads of financial institutions, and the former governor of the Bank of Lebanon.
Her actions earned her genuine popularity among a segment of the Lebanese population, who see her as a magistrate who dared to confront interests considered untouchable. They also earned her particularly vicious media campaigns, disciplinary proceedings, and accusations of bias, which she has always denied.
To her detractors, who accused her of acting for political reasons, Ghada Aoun replied that she had investigated cases without regard to party affiliation, including when they concerned people close to former President Michel Aoun.
During the most difficult periods, the magistrate often explained that she drew strength from her Christian faith. In an interview published in September 2025, she confided that she sometimes felt "abandoned like Jesus on the Cross," while affirming that the prospect of seeing the French justice system take over certain cases had restored her confidence.
"The fight continues"
Having retired in March 2025 after nearly forty years of service to the judiciary, Ghada Aoun never considered her fight to be over. From the moment she left the judiciary, she affirmed that retirement could not end a lifelong struggle.
Her publication on X is part of this continuity. It is not only a message of thanks addressed to Omar Harfouch. It also resembles a belated response to the campaigns that had attempted to discredit her, or even isolate her.
Seeing her actions recognized today in the pages of a newspaper that once opposed her represents a form of moral rehabilitation for her. This reversal also illustrates the internal transformations that Nidaa Al-Watan seems to be undergoing since its change in ownership and the gradual evolution of its editorial line.
For Ghada Aoun, however, the essential thing remains elsewhere: in the continuation of the investigations, the recovery of the funds that were allegedly misappropriated and the end of an impunity that has deeply shaken the confidence of the Lebanese in their institutions.
Her message is thus intended to be as much personal as political. After the campaigns, the insults and the attempts to sideline her, the former prosecutor continues to believe that the truth can eventually appear "like the light".
And that, sooner or later, the night dissipates and the chains break.
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