Samaha’s defense lawyer requests his release

The defense lawyer of former Minister Michel Samaha, Sakher al-Hashem filed on Wednesday a request with the military court to release Samaha.               

Al-Hashem noted that Samaha has been under arrest for at least one year, during which many incidents took place including attacks against the army, terrorist acts, murder of army officers and bloodshed, pointing out that the sentence of the suspects interrogated in these cases is similar to that of Michel Samaha, yet they were released on bail until an indictment is issued against them.             

Al-Hashem said that “Samaha is accused of a crime that did not result in bloodshed and remained in the context of a planning,” explaining that he requested his client’s release as an implementation of the law. He stressed that in case the military court rejected his request, he will appeal the decision according to rightful motives.            

Former Minister Michel Samaha, was arrested on Thursday 9th of August, 2012 by the Internal Security Forces’ Information Branch on suspicion of involvement in a plot to carry out terrorist attacks in Lebanon in collaboration with Syria.                       

He was charged by the government’s deputy commissioner at the Military Tribunal on Aug. 11, alongside Syrian National Security Bureau head Ali Mamlouk and a Syrian army officer identified as Brig. Gen. Adnan with plotting to assassinate political and religious figures in Lebanon and carrying out terrorist attacks.                     

The three men were accused of planning to incite sectarian clashes through terrorist attacks in North Lebanon during the Eid using explosives that Samaha allegedly transported to Lebanon and stored after taking possession of them from Mamlouk and Adnan.