General Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud revealed that the arrested radical cleric, Sheikh Ahmed Assir, will undergo DNA testing to confirm his identity after having reportedly undergone several plastic surgeries to alter his appearance, the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat said on Sunday.
He told the newspaper: “I asked the state commissioner to the military court to carry out the test.”
He added that an indictment had been previously issued against Assir, which means that his file is “complete” and it will only be a matter of time before he stands trial.
“A preliminary investigation is necessary however and a warrant should be based mainly on Assir’s interrogation,” Hammoud added.
The trial will be public, he told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper.
The Internal Security Forces’ General Directorate arrested on Saturday (August 15) fugitive hardline cleric Ahmad Assir, wanted for being involved in deadly clashes that resulted in the deaths of 19 army troops.
Security officials said that Assir was arrested at Beirut International Airport as he was attempting to flee the country in disguise using a forged passport. The officials said that he appeared to have undergone several surgical operations to his face.
The General Security added that Assir attempted to flee towards Nigeria via Cairo.
Assir is a radical anti-Hezbollah preacher who led clashes against the Lebanese Army in June 2013 from the Bilal al-Rabbah mosque in the neighborhood of Abra, Sidon, south of Lebanon.
Supporters of Assir have gone into hiding in the aftermath of the 2013 battles.
Security forces have beefed up efforts to track down the fugitives, especially after several Assir supporters were linked to a number of suicide bombings in Lebanon.