BEIRUT: A group of Salafist sheikhs questioned Friday the morality of a police operation that led to the death of a notorious Islamist militant and one of his associates in Tripoli a day earlier.
The Muslim Scholars Committee said in a statement that it rejected the beliefs and methods of the militants, but rejected the principle of targeted killings before trial.
Police shot dead fugitive Osama Mansour and one of his partners in the northern city of Tripoli Thursday night during an operation to arrest a radical cleric.
Mansour had been sentenced to death in absentia over an August 2014 attack in Tripoli.
The Salafist committee called on the justice and interior ministries to allow human rights organizations to carry out investigations that would determine whether the militants were killed as a result of a premeditated operation by security forces, or due to an unexpected shootout as police said.
A statement released by Internal Security Forces Friday indicated that the death of the two militants resulted from an arrest attempt and not a premeditated operation.
An ISF patrol was trying to arrest fugitive sheikh Khaled Hoblos, who was inside a Kia Picanto driven by a man identified as Amir al-Kirdi Thursday night.
A separate Opel car carrying Mansour and his partner opened fire at the patrol and wounded two policemen in an attempt to obstruct the arrest. Police returned fire killing the two militants, and Hoblos and Kirdi were arrested.
The ISF statement said Mansour was wearing an explosive belt.
The Muslim Scholars Committee Friday said that the state and its institutions should function in accordance with human rights as to prevent any violations in the processes of arresting, investigating, detaining or trying suspects.
The committee also warned against relying on sectarian and partisan discrimination when it comes to the arrest of wanted perpetrators.
This “double standard” has allowed for criminals in the Bekaa Valley and Brital to escape while others were denied trial and were subject to human rights abuses, the statement added.
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