The Internal Security
Forces Intelligence Branch arrested former MP and cabinet minister Michel
Samaha on Thursday morning "for security reasons," the acting general
prosecutor said.
Samaha was arrested
following raids on his houses in Beirut’s Ashrafiyeh district and the North
Metn town of Jwar al-Khensahara.
Samaha's wife, Gladis,
told LBC TV network that the former minister was still in bed when the security
forces dragged him out and forced him into one of four vehicles waiting outside
his Jwar al-Khenshara house.
She said her husband was
arrested for “political reasons” and urged the Lebanese team that backs him “to
move.”
The security forces
seized two of his vehicles, a computer and several items, including CDs and
videos, from both houses. They also took his driver Fares Barakat for
questioning.
The National News Agency
said his secretary and two of his bodyguards were also being interrogated.
The reasons for Samaha's
arrest were not clear.
His seizure came upon
instructions by acting General Prosecutor Samir Hammoud for “security
reasons" which MTV said were linked to an assassination attempt against
al-Mustaqbal bloc’s Akkar MP Khaled al-Daher to create civil strife.
Al-Daher later told MTV
that he was surprised by the report. “I don’t have any information about this
case,” the lawmaker said.
Security forces linked
his arrest to the seizure of explosives for the purpose of carrying out
bombings in several Lebanese areas. They told LBC that the explosives were not
found at his houses but elsewhere.
Hammoud refused to
divulge any information, telling LBC that the interrogation should be swift.
“The appropriate
judicial measures will be taken after that by either issuing an arrest warrant
or setting him free,” he said.
Samaha is known for his
pro-Syrian regime views. He was among several pro-Syrian Lebanese officials who
were sanctioned in 2007 by the United States for “contributing to political and
economic instability in Lebanon.”http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/49451
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