Military court adjourns trial of “spies” for Israel
A Lebanese military court adjourned Friday the trial of brothers Ali and Youssef Jarrah, who are charged with spying for Israel, a judicial source said.
"The trial was postponed until July 27 after their attorneys requested the hearings be made confidential as they feel the lives of their clients and their clients” families are threatened by Israel, Syria and Hizbullah," the source told AFP. Lebanon”s military prosecutor has demanded that the two brothers be condemned to death if convicted.
Lebanon remains in a state of war with Israel and convicted spies face a life prison term with hard labor or the death penalty if found guilty of contributing to Lebanese loss of life. The Jarrahs were detained last year by Hizbullah, which fought a devastating 34-day war with Israel in Lebanon in 2006.
Lebanon has arrested more than 70 people this year in a crackdown on espionage rings, including a retired general and a policeman. Meanwhile, Lebanon”s state-run National News Agency reported Friday that the Lebanese Armed Forces arrested two men identified as "H. R." and his son "A. R." from the southern town of Shihabiyeh, near the city of Tyre. The two men are suspected of spying for Israel.