| The Daily Star |
BEIRUT: A total of 16 detainees with connections to the Islamist militant group Fatah al-Islam were released on bail Tuesday and Wednesday.
After 80 detainees filed requests for bail two weeks ago, Investigative Judge Ghassan Oueidat accepted bail of LL300,000 for each of 16 inmates, who were being held on charges for non-violent crimes.
The 16 were accused of collaborating with Fatah al-Islam militants who engaged in violent clashes against the Lebanese Army in the refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in 2007.
According to judicial sources, the 16 inmates released are: Mustafa Dandal, Mohammad Seif, Ali Ahmad, Ali Hussein, Samir Daoud, Khodr Merhi, Bilal Masri, Khaled Mahmoud, Othman Turkmani, Louay Masri, Jihad Attar, Rajab Hussein, Mustafa Abdel-Aziz, Ghassan Ali, Obeida Tawye and Dahham Ibrahim, a Syrian national.
A judicial source told The Daily Star their release is not political. “The period they [16 detainees] spent in prison is almost equal to the possible sentence they would have received if convicted,” the source explained.
The source also refuted “rumors of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s role in demanding the judiciary release on bail large numbers of Islamic detainees to boost his popularity in Tripoli,” adding that “the accusations against them are secondary, and most of them [the charges] are related to their knowledge of the hideouts of the most-wanted Fatah al-Islam militants, providing them with food and shelter and not notifying the Lebanese authorities of their hideouts.”
The judicial source added that the 16 detainees did not take part in the clashes with the Lebanese Army.
Following their release, the number of detainees connected to the fighting in Nahr al-Bared stands at 108.
Five detainees were released on bail Tuesday and 11 others Wednesday, according to the judicial source.
After 80 detainees filed requests for bail two weeks ago, Investigative Judge Ghassan Oueidat accepted bail of LL300,000 for each of 16 inmates, who were being held on charges for non-violent crimes.
The 16 were accused of collaborating with Fatah al-Islam militants who engaged in violent clashes against the Lebanese Army in the refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in 2007.
According to judicial sources, the 16 inmates released are: Mustafa Dandal, Mohammad Seif, Ali Ahmad, Ali Hussein, Samir Daoud, Khodr Merhi, Bilal Masri, Khaled Mahmoud, Othman Turkmani, Louay Masri, Jihad Attar, Rajab Hussein, Mustafa Abdel-Aziz, Ghassan Ali, Obeida Tawye and Dahham Ibrahim, a Syrian national.
A judicial source told The Daily Star their release is not political. “The period they [16 detainees] spent in prison is almost equal to the possible sentence they would have received if convicted,” the source explained.
The source also refuted “rumors of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s role in demanding the judiciary release on bail large numbers of Islamic detainees to boost his popularity in Tripoli,” adding that “the accusations against them are secondary, and most of them [the charges] are related to their knowledge of the hideouts of the most-wanted Fatah al-Islam militants, providing them with food and shelter and not notifying the Lebanese authorities of their hideouts.”
The judicial source added that the 16 detainees did not take part in the clashes with the Lebanese Army.
Following their release, the number of detainees connected to the fighting in Nahr al-Bared stands at 108.
Five detainees were released on bail Tuesday and 11 others Wednesday, according to the judicial source.
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