The Daily Star - Eight arrested for flyers in support of Syrian protests - April 20, 2011

By Mohammed Zaatari

The Daily Star SIDON: Eight members of an Islamist fundamentalist group were arrested in Sidon and Tripoli Tuesday for posting leaflets in support of protesters in Syria, a security source told The Daily Star. The source said the Lebanese Army Intelligence Bureau arrested four members of Hizb Ut-Tahrir, Arabic for Liberation Party, in the southern coastal city of Sidon as they were posting leaflets in support of Syrian opposition movements. Four other Islamist activists were arrested in the northern city of Tripoli as they sought to post similar leaflets, the state-run National News Agency reported. According to NNA, the leaflets called for a solidarity demonstration with the Syrian protesters in Tripoli Friday. Hizb Ut-Tahrir spokesman Ahmad Kaskas confirmed the arrests. He told AFP that the arrests were made in Sidon and Tripoli as party members were “posting leaflets calling for demonstrations against the Syrian regime on Friday.” Hizb Ut-Tahrir is an international movement that seeks to restore the caliphate, or unite all Muslim countries under one Islamic rule. The group has a strong presence in Asia, mainly Indonesia, and has spread to several Arab countries, where it is for the most part banned. The party, however, is not banned in Lebanon, although the Hizb Ut-Tahrir recognizes neither official borders nor the country's constitution. The party has called for a rally after Friday prayers in Tripoli to support Syrian protesters, who since March have taken to the streets in increasingly heated protests against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.