Former Lebanese minister arrested for planning attacks for Syria's Assad

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Michel Samaha, a former Lebanese minister who is a close ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has reportedly confessed to helping plan a series of bomb attacks against Sunni targets in north Lebanon at the behest of the Syrian leadership.

The discovery of the reported bomb plot will have significant political repercussions if confirmed and will harden fears in Lebanon that the embattled Assad regime is seeking to export its troubles to its tiny neighbor, which is split between supporters and opponents of the Syrian president.

Also, the detention in Lebanon of an influential pro-Syrian politician is highly unusual, suggesting that the Lebanese police had compelling evidence before detaining Mr. Samaha.

“No one would have dared to arrest Samaha, neither the security agencies nor the judiciary, if the [authorities] had no evidence proving Samaha’s involvement in the charges issued against him,” Khaled Daher, a Sunni parliamentarian from north Lebanon and outspoken critic of the Assad regime, told the Kuwaiti newspaper As-Seyassah in an interview published today.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0810/Former-Lebanese-minister-arrested-for-planning-attacks-for-Syria-s-Assad

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1. Samaha to be referred to military tribunal over ‘terror’ plot

BEIRUT: Former Cabinet minister Michel Samaha is expected to be referred to a military tribunal Saturday following hard evidence, including incriminating video footage, of the pro-President Bashar Assad official’s alleged involvement in a plot to carry out terrorist attacks, a senior security official said Friday.

“Unless the 48-hour precautionary detention is renewed for another 48 hours for further interrogation, Samaha will be referred to a military tribunal Saturday,” the official told The Daily Star.

“The case against Samaha constitutes a clear and irrefutable condemnation following his confessions to his involvement in the transportation of explosives from Syria to Lebanon for use in terrorist attacks in areas in the north,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

A military judge is expected to further interrogate Samaha following his reported confessions that he was involved in the terror plot and that he had transported explosives in his car from Syria to Lebanon for this purpose, a judicial source told The Daily Star.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Aug-11/184251-samaha-to-be-referred-to-military-tribunal-over-terror-plot.ashx

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2. Lebanon’s Ex-Minister Charged With Terrorism, Al Jazeera Reports

A Lebanese court has charged former Information Minister Michel Samaha with terrorism after he admitted his role in a plot to carry out attacks in Lebanon with the help of Syrian security agents, Al Jazeera reported, without saying where it got the information.

Ali Mamlouk, head of Syria’s national security agency, was also charged with terrorism, the broadcaster said.

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-08-11/lebanon-s-ex-minister-charged-with-terrorism-al-jazeera-reports