The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Lebanon's military court charged Friday retired army Gen. Brig. Antoine Abu Jawdeh Friday with spying for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad and assisting Israel with waging war against Lebanon.
Military Prosecutor Judge Sakr Sakr charged Jawdeh with participating in meetings with Mossad personnel from 2006 onward, providing them with classified information about the Lebanese army including names of army commanders, their phone numbers, and the kind of weapons used by the army.
He was also charged with supplying Israelis with information about Hezbollah and facilitating Israel’s mission to wage war against Lebanon.
Abu Jawdeh’s lawyer, Riad Harb, said he has petitioned the court to retract his client’s confession, which Harb argues was made under duress following his arrest.
“I have submitted a defense plea, [the court] either rejects it or takes it into account,” Harb told The Daily Star, adding that the prosecutor did not have any evidence to prove Abu Jawdeh’s guilt.
He also said that the court has set Sept. 28 as the date for Abu Jawdeh’s interrogation and that the court should make a decision regarding the plea before that.
If Jawdeh’s action is deemed to have resulted in the loss of innocent lives, he could be sentenced to the death penalty, a judicial source told The Daily Star Friday. Howevr, the source said he believed Jawdeh was more likely to get life imprisonment.
In January, First Military Investigative Magistrate Riad Abu Ghayda requested the death sentence against Abu Jawdeh, who was arrested in August 2010 for collaborating with the Israelis.
Last year, Lebanon’s Cabinet unanimously agreed that the best punishment for Israeli collaborators was the death penalty. President Michel Sleiman said he would sign death penalties against Israeli spies issued by the judiciary.
Military Prosecutor Judge Sakr Sakr charged Jawdeh with participating in meetings with Mossad personnel from 2006 onward, providing them with classified information about the Lebanese army including names of army commanders, their phone numbers, and the kind of weapons used by the army.
He was also charged with supplying Israelis with information about Hezbollah and facilitating Israel’s mission to wage war against Lebanon.
Abu Jawdeh’s lawyer, Riad Harb, said he has petitioned the court to retract his client’s confession, which Harb argues was made under duress following his arrest.
“I have submitted a defense plea, [the court] either rejects it or takes it into account,” Harb told The Daily Star, adding that the prosecutor did not have any evidence to prove Abu Jawdeh’s guilt.
He also said that the court has set Sept. 28 as the date for Abu Jawdeh’s interrogation and that the court should make a decision regarding the plea before that.
If Jawdeh’s action is deemed to have resulted in the loss of innocent lives, he could be sentenced to the death penalty, a judicial source told The Daily Star Friday. Howevr, the source said he believed Jawdeh was more likely to get life imprisonment.
In January, First Military Investigative Magistrate Riad Abu Ghayda requested the death sentence against Abu Jawdeh, who was arrested in August 2010 for collaborating with the Israelis.
Last year, Lebanon’s Cabinet unanimously agreed that the best punishment for Israeli collaborators was the death penalty. President Michel Sleiman said he would sign death penalties against Israeli spies issued by the judiciary.
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