Lebanese hostages reassure relatives about their situation via LBCI

Head of the follow-up committee of the 11 Lebanese detainees in Syria, Sheikh Abbas Zoughaib, revealed that one of the hostages’ families received a phone call from their son. The phone call was established from a Turkish line.      

Zoughaib reported that the detainee reassured his family that all his fellow detainees are well and still together.     

Zoughaib called on the Turkish authorities to seriously work on releasing the Lebanese detainees.      

Meanwhile, the hostage’s families stated to LBCI that the Lebanese detainees told them that former PM Saad Hariri and MP Okab Sakr are the only ones following up on this case.      

During a live phone call, the 11 Lebanese detainees as well as their kidnapper, Abou Ibrahim, told LBCI that they’re all in good health and enjoying maximum freedom. Detainee, Abbas Chehab, invited centrist Lebanese reporters, artists and officials to visit them and convey messages from the rebels to the Lebanese people. Abou Ibrahim shared Chehab’s demands.       

The detainees’ praised the Syrian rebels and criticized the Lebanese government. They told LBCI that they feel at home. One of them claimed that “he is ready to become a Syrian citizen if the Lebanese government will not negotiate with Abou Ibrahim”.

The eleven  Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped on their way back from Iran by insurgents hoping to use them for a prisoner swap on the 20th of May.   

LBCI was also successful in establishing live phone contact with the 11 detainees and one of the kidnappers known as "Abu Ibrahim" on Sunday 29th of July, whereby they confirmed that they were in good health and that they were located in the town of Aazaz, rural Aleppo.