The families of the Lebanese
hostages held in Syria's Aazaz staged on Saturday a sit-in near the Internal
Security Forces' Directorate General in Ashrafieh to protest against the
actions undertaken by the Lebanese Armed Forces Intelligence Branch.
In this context, the wife of
Hassan Saleh confirmed that "the transfer of her husband to the Roumieh prison was
not based on evidence or investigations," accusing the Turkish Intelligence
Branch of holding Hassan Saleh and Mohammad Saleh in detention.
For her part, the hostages'
spokesperson, Hajja Hayat Awali stressed that the families will continue
their movements until the release of their relatives.
In turn, Sheikh Abbas Zgheib, who
was tasked by the Higher Islamic Shiite Council to follow up on the aforementioned
case, called on the LAF Intelligence Branch to release the detained suspects, stressing
that "the detention is politically motivated".
This comes after the families held a meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri's advisor Ali Hamdan with talks featuring high on the case of Hassan Saleh, Mohammad
Saleh, and Nadim Zgheib who remain arrested.
Mona Termos, wife of one of the Lebanese
hostages said that the families support the "fair" investigations,
noting that "the abduction of the Turkish pilots was a 'beacon of hope' for the
families" who call for the release of the Aazaz hostages.
"We are unaware of the reasons behind
the detention of Hassan Saleh as well as Nadim Zgheib who is not involved in the kidnapping of the Turkish nationals," Termos
added.
Earlier in the day, the families also held
a demonstration before the residence of Speaker Nabih Berri to protest the
transfer of Hassan Saleh, son of the detained citizen Jamil Saleh, to the
Roumieh prison.
While five of the relatives of the Lebanese
hostages in Syria' Aazaz have been summoned to investigations in the case of
the abduction of the two Turkish pilots, security sources told LBCI that Hassan
Saleh, Mohammad Saleh, and Nadim Zgheib remain arrested.
On Friday the 9th of August,
gunmen intercepted a Turkish Airlines' bus at the Cocodi Bridge in Beirut and
kidnapped two crew members, a pilot and a co-pilot. The bus carrying the crew
members was heading from the Beirut International Airport towards a hotel in
Ain El-Mrayseh.
While well-informed sources linked the
abduction to the case of the Lebanese hostages held in Aazaz, the relatives of
the Aazaz hostages denied being involved in the operation.
Eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped on
their way back from Iran by insurgents hoping to use them for a prisoner swap
on the 22nd of May. Only two have so far been released.
Their families have vowed to continue their
movements until all their loved ones have returned home "safe and
sound".
They accuse Ankara of sponsoring the kidnapping
and the Lebanese government of inaptness in this regard.