BEIRUT: Caretaker Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud said Wednesday that the case of three Syrians reportedly abducted in Lebanon was now in the hands of the judiciary, after the Internal Security Forces did its part to discover what took place.
“The case is currently under the jurisdiction of the Prosecutor General, and the investigation is being directed by the military judiciary, in whose work I cannot interfere,” said Baroud in a statement released by the Interior Ministry.
On Feb. 24, Jassem Merhi Jassem was arrested by an Army Intelligence unit for distributing anti-Syrian regime flyers in Beirut. Jassem was later released by Baabda’s investigative judge, but shortly afterward he disappeared along with his brothers who had arrived at the Baabda Serail to pick him up.
Baroud also praised the commitment of NGOs SKeyes and Maharat to public and private liberties, after the groups called for action in the case.
“I put myself at your disposal to help within my jurisdiction, and I call upon you to follow up on the judicial proceedings until the truth is revealed,” Baroud added.
Maharat and the SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom urged Baroud and ISF Commander General Ashraf Rifi to move quickly uncover the fate of the Syrians, who were abducted in Beirut last month.
“We demand a move to immediately reveal the fate of the Syrian dissidents who were kidnapped in the Lebanese capital, and we also stress the importance of adopting lawful means in treating activists,” said the letter addressed by Beirut-based SKeyes. “The kidnapping has raised fears among the supporters of public and media freedoms in Lebanon about the recurrence of such acts.” –The Daily Star
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