The Daily Star - Lebanon judge recommends death penalty for 148 Islamists, July 20 2012

By Youssef Diab

BEIRUT: Investigative Judge Ghassan Oueidat recommended the death penalty Thursday for 148 Islamists involved in the 2007 Palestinian refugee camp clashes with the Lebanese Army.

Eleven were indicted in absentia while the rest have been detained since the clashes ended between soldiers and the militant group Fatah al-Islam.

The suspects were accused of targeting the internal security of the state by funding and carrying out terrorist operations as well as forming an evil group aimed at killing Lebanese Army officers and soldiers as well as civilians.

They were also charged with undermining the prestige of the state and carrying out crimes against the people.

Oueidat’s decision, issued five years since the end of the bloody clashes and the detention of some 180 Islamists without charge, comes in the form of a 447-page indictment.

Relatives of the detainees intensified their protests this year in a bid to pressure the government to speed up their trials. Government officials and Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi have since vowed to pay special attention to finalizing the indictments.

The judge also issued arrest warrants for 224 suspects still at large. Fifty-five suspects in detention are still under investigation as they have yet to be identified.

Oueidat also cleared 101 people for lack of evidence with regard to the crimes they were accused of. He also asked authorities to halt their pursuit of 160 due to cause of death.

Oueidat transferred the case to the State Prosecutor’s office with the names of 83 suspects detained, which will then transfer them to the Higher Judicial Council.

The indictment, based on the judicial review of events in Nahr al-Bared submitted by State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, included 66 suspects currently detained, 55 unidentified suspects still in detention, 126 detainees released over the past year and 226 suspects on the loose.

The suspects are of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian and Saudi Arabian nationalities.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Jul-19/181165-judge-recommends-death-penalty-for-88-islamists.ashx#axzz20mFkUNDx