February 2, 2010 - The Daily Star - Lebanon Fraudster Imam Transferred to Bekaa Prosecutor

Fraudster imam transferred to Bekaa prosecutor

BEIRUT: State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza transferred on Monday Majdel Anjar Imam Sheikh Mohammad Abdel-Fatah al-Majzoub, who staged his own abduction, and his accomplice Kamal Ali Handouss to the Bekaa prosecutor’s office. The two were taken into custody on charges of false abduction and inciting sectarian tensions.
Majzoub’s shaving machine and laptop, in addition to other items, were kept as evidence.
The Sunni Sheikh staged his own kidnapping allegedly in a desperate bid to secure a ransom and repay debts.
But police found Majzoub, who is in his 20s, in a house near Majdel Anjar last week, with his beard and hair shaven off but otherwise unharmed.
The cleric’s neighbors told the media that the young sheikh had been having financial troubles and in debt.
His “kidnapping” had prompted a major search operation in the eastern Bekaa where sectarian relations between Sunni and Shiite Muslims are tense
Urging residents to remain calm, MPs and officials had met with the Lebanon’s grand mufti and called on the police to find the sheikh immediately to preserve “civil peace.”
The sheikh was now being grilled by investigators, said the security official.
On Monday, former Premier Fouad Saniora said Majzoub’s case was being handled by the judiciary. He added that the case “could have had severe repercussions on civil peace.” – The Daily Star