BEIRUT: The lawyer of a terror suspect Monday requested that Military Investigative Judge Imad Zein drop the charges against his client who is accused of fighting in Syria, arguing that members of Hezbollah were left without prosecution.
Tareq Shandab requested that allegations against defendant Mahmoud Abdel-Qader be revoked, citing double jeopardy and selective treatment of Lebanese citizens.
Abdel-Qader who was detained two weeks ago is accused of belonging to armed organizations with the aim of carrying out terrorism acts outside Lebanon against the Syrian regime as well as recruiting, training, funding and transporting people into Syria.
He is also accused of involvement in firing rockets into Israel.
Shandab asked the judge to refrain from pursuing the case “because his client has already been accused and prosecuted of the same charge five years ago and Lebanese law forbids the prosecution of someone for the same crime twice.”
The attorney who is also the lawyer of several other terror suspects also denied the charges and said Hezbollah members were neither prosecuted for fighting in Syria or resisting Israel.
“Acts attributed to the defendant are inaccurate and if they were, they are not punishable by Lebanese law, according to the jurisprudence of Lebanese military prosecution,” he said in his written request.
“Many people belonging to Hezbollah and other groups in the March 8 coalition are recruiting individuals to kill Syrian people and they are being trained and funded to [fight there],” Shandab added.
“They are also smuggling weapons into Syria as well as people including the Iraqi Abu Fadle Al-Abbas Brigades via Beirut airport into Syria,” the lawyer said.
He also said argued that Hezbollah was carrying out “resistance against Israel” without the scrutiny of the military prosecutor.
“Given that the Constitution stipulates equality between citizens and firing rockets into Israel falls under resistance acts against Israel because being selective when it comes to the resistance is now allowed because the ministerial statement stipulate the right of all Lebanese to resistant,” he concluded.
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