Naharnet Newsdesk - Lahoud's 4 Generals May Face Death before Firing Squads as Hariri's 'Terrorist Assassins'

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Lahoud's 4 Generals May Face Death before Firing Squads as Hariri's 'Terrorist Assassins'

The four detained generals of President Lahoud's police regime have been formally charged with 'terrorism' and 'willful murder' that may lead them to death before firing squads if convicted of ex-Premier Hariri's assassination.
They were held in permanent custody accused of 'willful murder, attempted willful murder, involvement in terrorist actions and possessing explosives and firearm,' crimes that are punishable by death under Lebanon's existing laws if convicted.

The death penalty for military personnel is legally executed by firing squads, while civilians are executed on the gallows. There is a powerful lobby in Lebanon against capital punishment, however.

The charges were brought against the four generals by examining magistrate Elias Eid at nightfall Saturday, capping three days of interrogation at their solitary confinement cells in the detention ward of the General Security Department and then in chains at the nearby Justice Palace.

The four are: Jamil Sayyed of the Surete Generale, Mustafa Hamdan of the Presidential Guard Brigade, Raymond Azar of the army's Intelligence Service and Ali Hajj of the Internal Security Forces.

Sayyed, Hamdan and Azar were taken to separate cells at the military police prison in suburban Nora barracks after Eid's move, while Hajj was kept at an underground cell in the mid-city Surete Generale headquarters. Their permanent detention coincided with the lapse of the first year of Lahoud's 3-year extended term.

All four are known to have been handpicked by Lahoud with Syria's blessing to command the nation's major security services, helping him to turn Lebanon into a police state. They were in power when Hariri was assassinated Feb. 14.

Beirut, 04 Sep 05, 09:44


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