Fatah al-Islam Members Charged with Terrorism
| Military Magistrate Jean Fahd indicted Wednesday 11 members of Fatah al-Islam with charges punishable by the death penalty according to Lebanon’s penal code. The 11 suspects, 10 Lebanese and one Syrian, were arrested in north Lebanon after breakout of clashes between the Lebanese army and the militants 11 days ago. The suspects were among nearly 100 people rounded up by security agencies for possible affiliation with Fatah al-Islam. The suspects were charged with “forming an armed gang with the intent of committing crimes against the population and property, targeting state authority, attacking public civilian and military institutions and carrying out terrorist attacks.” Fahd is to interrogate later in the day another batch of suspects, a judicial source said. The suspects will appoint lawyers to defend them at the military tribunal, which handles attacks on state security. No date has been set for the hearing. At least 31 Lebanese soldiers have been killed in the ongoing clashes with Fatah al-Islam in north Lebanon. Lebanese security agents arrested Tuesday a terrorist mastermind in Beirut’s Ashrafiyeh district and confiscated documents including lists of potential targets. |
| Beirut, 30 May 07 |
