Media Committee Says Investigations Continue on Illegal Internet

Head of the parliamentary media committee MP Hassan Fadlallah called on the judicial authorities to shoulder the responsibility with regard to the illegal internet network file away from political interference.

Following the committee's meeting held in the presence of Ministers of Defense Samir Moqbel and Telecommunications Butros Harb, Fadlallah said: “There are no answers so far on how the stations and the equipment were installed.”

He emphasized that investigations in the defense ministry will conclude within 15 days with regard to the security breaches, adding that things are still complicated with regard to the Bakish and Faqra installations.

The MP said that some names involved in the case have appeared as the result of conflicts between the beneficiaries.

For his part, Harb said that the case must not be turned into a political one.

He added that one person has been detained so far from the Ghorabi family on suspicions of his involvement.

Last month, the government kicked off efforts to dismantle internet stations that were illegally set up in several areas around Lebanon.

Harb had said that they posed a serious danger to Lebanon's national security since they were linked to Israel.

The owners of these stations were buying international internet bandwidth with nominal cost from Turkey and Cyprus which they were selling back to Lebanese subscribers at reduced prices.

It has been reported that wireless internet towers and technical equipment were placed illegally in some mountainous terrains including Tannourine, al-Dinnieh, Sannine and al-Zaarour.

Smuggled internet services initiate risks namely the possibility of security breaches as they lack the basic control standards exposing Lebanon's security to third parties including Israel.

D.A.

M.T.