BEIRUT: The alleged mastermind behind the kidnapping of seven
Estonian tourists who were released in July possessed an official Venezuelan
passport, raising questions about Syria's potential links with the Latin
American country.
Wael Abbas, the key player behind the abduction of the seven
Estonians, had traveled to Qatar out of Damascus airport on a “genuine”
Venezuelan passport, high-ranking security sources told The Daily Star Monday.
Original reports of Abbas’ arrest had said the passport was a forgery.
Qatari authorities, who identified Abbas after a picture of the
suspect was circulated by Interpol, deported him back to Syria in line with
regulations.
Syrian authorities handed Abbas, 29, over to Lebanon’s General
Security at the border crossing of Masnaa on Nov. 2.
According to details revealed in an ongoing investigation by the
ISF’s information branch, Abbas had planned to fly to Brazil from Qatar.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has maintained links with
Syria, in October sending a message of support to President Bashar Assad
against what he labeled as U.S. aggression during the Syrian government’s
ongoing crackdown on protesters there.
“This question [of links with Venezuala] is still on the table
and we are trying to verify the circumstances surrounding it,” one top security
source said.
He said security authorities are likely to go over terrorist
records traveling from Syria to other countries and involving bombings and
assassinations since the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik
Hariri.
“The deteriorating situation in Syria could expose the secrets
of terrorist operations that were sponsored by Syria in Lebanon and surrounding
countries,” the source added.
The seven Estonian tourists were snatched from their bicycles by
armed men on the outskirts of east Lebanon's city of Zahle on March 23. They
were released nearly four months later in July.
According to victims’ testimonies, they were frequently
transported between Lebanon and Syria during their abduction.
The security sources said an Estonian delegation was in Beirut
last week seeking details of Syria’s involvement in the kidnapping of the seven
Estonian cyclists following Abbas’ detention.
Abbas, the investigation revealed, was expecting as much as
$120,000, but received only $40,000 for masterminding the Estonians’ kidnapping
in coordination with Syrian intelligence agents who monitored the tourists’
movement out of Syrian territory into Lebanon.
Abbas is a
resident of the Bekaa Valley town of Majdal Anjar, notorious for its pockets of
relative lawlessness. He emerged as a prime suspect in April after he fled the scene
of a shootout between bandits and Internal Security Forces officers thought to
be involved with the kidnapping. Darwish Khanjar, another suspect, was killed
in the altercation.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Nov-14/154023-estonian-kidnap-mastermind-held-genuine-venezuelan-passport-sources.ashx#axzz1dsxPgXvI
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