Former Lebanese Minister Released on Bail
BEIRUT – A former Lebanese minister who is close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was released on bail on Thursday after serving a jail term for smuggling explosives into Lebanon from Syria and planning attacks, the national news agency said. Former Information Minister Michel Samaha was se
Former Lebanese Minister Released on Bail
BEIRUT – A former Lebanese minister who is close to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was released on bail on Thursday after serving a jail term for smuggling explosives into Lebanon from Syria and planning attacks, the national news agency said.
Former Information Minister Michel Samaha was sentenced to 4-1/2 years in prison in May, having been detained since August 2012.
A court released him on bail on Thursday secured by 150 million Lebanese pounds ($100,000).
The decision to release him drew criticism from Assad’s opponents in Lebanon including former Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri.
“Regardless of the reasons behind the court’s decision to release Samaha, it (remains) a decision to release a criminal who is involved in one of the dirtiest crimes against Lebanon,” Hariri said in a statement.
The arrest of Samaha and indictments against two Syrian officials in the case marked a major break with the past. Top Syrian officials have previously denied the charges but have not commented on the verdict.
Syria played a powerful role in its smaller neighbour even after it withdrew troops in 2005 under international pressure following the killing of Hariri’s father, former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, in a huge Beirut car bomb.