Upon suffering a head injury resulting from a rock that was thrown at him by protesters in Central Beirut, MP Salim Saadeh was immediately hospitalized before he could attend Tuesday’s parliamentary session on time.
Saadeh’s convoy was passing by the demonstrators surrounding the entrances leading to Parliament when several protesters rushed towards it and surrounded his car.
They attacked the car with various objects and bombarded the convoy with rocks, causing heavy damage to the vehicles and wounding the deputy.
As a spokesman of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party told Annahar, “Saadeh lowered the car window to speak with the demonstrators, but he and his car were thrown with stones, one of which injured [the MP] and required him to be transferred to the AUB Medical Center.”
The source also confirmed that MP Saadeh’s condition is stable. In turn, the office of the deputy also released a statement commenting on the incident.
The statement said that “while MP Salim Abdullah Saadeh was on his way to Parliament to deliver a speech bearing the people’s pain, and to withhold confidence from this government, his car was attacked by some saboteurs of the real revolution and was injured with a blow to the head.”
Saadeh’s office also said that he was at the AUB Medical Center, “where the necessary medical examinations are being performed.”
Later on, a video of a bruised and bloodstained Salim Saadeh speaking from his hospital bed circulated social media. In the video, he assured everyone that he was fine and thanked people for their love and support.
النائب #سليم_سعادة: انا منيح و شكرا للجميع لمحبة الناس كلها سوا شكرا #متضامن_مع_سليم_سعادة pic.twitter.com/ixtBcjBUoK
— Salim Saadeh سليم سعادة (@SalimSaadeh) February 11, 2020
Similarly, another video of Saadeh’s severely damaged car became trending on Twitter. As shown by the video, the body of the vehicle was greatly damaged by the attack and most of its windows completely smashed.
Nonetheless, a few hours later, MP Saadeh arrived at the Lebanese Parliament and attended the confidence session.
Not unlike Saadeh’s character, when it was his time to speak during the meeting, he humorously began by apologizing for “being late due to health issues,” garnering a round of laughter and applause.
