Military Prosecutor Judge Saqr Saqr Tuesday issued a decision to release Free Syrian Army commander Abdullah al-Rifai after he had been detained for nine days for allegedly attempting to sneak into Lebanon’s outskirts, according to judicial sources.
The judge will hand Rifai over to General Security, which will issue a decision concerning the legality of the commander’s presence in Lebanon.
Monday’s ruling was made pursuant to a request issued by Tarek Shandab, a lawyer defending several terror suspects held in Roumieh Prison.
In a request issued late last week, the attorney argued that his client had not committed any criminal act on Lebanese territory. He also said that his client’s detention served as a violation of legal conventions.
Preliminary interrogations carried out by military intelligence confirmed Shandab’s claim, revealing that the suspect in question hadn’t committed any crime on Lebanese territory nor did he have the intent to do so.
Earlier this month, the military announced that it had arrested Lebanese national Khaled Hujeiri in the border region of Arsal as he was attempting to smuggle Rifai to the outskirts of Arsal in a pickup truck.
The Army said it confiscated a fake Lebanese ID in the possession of Rifai, who, according to the statement, confessed to belonging to one of Syria's armed rebel groups.
