Soha Bechara to take legal action after detention in Greece

Former prisoner at the Khiam detention center, Soha Bechara, has contacted lawmakers in her country of residence, Switzerland, after being briefly detained on Tuesday night at Athens airport.

The former prisoner had made a stop in Greece, while she was traveling from Beirut through Athens to Switzerland. She was detained and interrogated before being deported back to Lebanon, as Greek authorities said she was denied entry into the country for security reasons.

Bechara plans to file a lawsuit regarding her detention, al-Akhbar newspaper said Thursday.

Bechara’s brother had earlier told L’Orient that they will take action.

"We have many friends within the European Union’s parliament, and we know many European politicians. We will not be silent," her brother said.

In 1988, Bechara unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate Antoine Lahad, the then-leader of the Israel-backed South Lebanon Army.

She was detained by the security guards in Lahad's house, before being taken to Israel, where she was interrogated and beaten, then to the notorious Khiam prison, without being charged or tried. She was given electric shocks and was solitary confined in a tiny cell for six years.

Bechara was released after ten years, in a French-brokered deal.

After her release, she moved to France and then to Geneva, where she married a Swiss national, with whom she had two children.

The Lebanese Communist Party condemned Wednesday the "flagrant attack against a Lebanese national heroine." It called on the Lebanese Foreign Affairs Ministry to "summon the Greek ambassador immediately and take strict measures."

Hezbollah also expressed support for Bechara, condemning her detention in a statement Wednesday.

"We call on the Lebanese government to fulfill its national and moral duties towards Bechara and to take appropriate measures regarding the unacceptable behavior of the Greek authorities," the statement said.