Itani to LBCI: Turkish authorities are not facilitating my release; Lebanese government did not do anything

Fidaa Itani has arrived in Turkey and is on his way back to Lebanon, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel said on Wednesday upon his arrival to  the Baabda Palace to participate in the cabinet session.

In a talk to LBCI, Fidaa Itani lauded the efforts of the Turkish government in facilitating his freedom and said that the Lebanese government did not do anything regarding his detention.

He also mentioned that Abu Ibrahim is alive and well and his pre-condition for his release is via delivering Itani to a Lebanese official at the Turkish embassy.

Syrian opposition group Liwaa Aasifat al-Chamal had announced that Fidaa Itani, the Lebanese journalist detained in Aazaz, will be sent to Lebanon through Turkey in a few hours, after the completion of identity checks.      

In a statement posted on its Facebook page, the group declared that Itani has been released without any mediation or ransom payment. 

Itani, a supporter of the Syrian revolution, was on a field report in Aazaz, Aleppo when he was put under house arrest by Syrian rebels over the weekend.                     
The coordination committee of the Syrian revolution in Aazaz declared on Saturday that the arrest of Itani, who works for LBCI and other channels on a freelance basis, was due to the incompatibility of his work with the course of the Syrian revolution.            

On Sunday, Syrian opposition group “Liwaa Aasifat al-Chamal” broadcasted a video showing Itani, safe and sound.                            

In the video, Itani reassured everyone that he was in good health, clarifying that he is under house arrest in the custody of Syrian opposition group "Liwaa Aasifat al Chamal" in Aazaz.