The military tribunal sentenced two Syrian nationals in absentia and a Lebanese citizen, who is in custody, in connection with a Syria-bound cargo ship laden with arms that was seized in 2012 in Lebanese territorial waters, a judicial source told The Daily Star Thursday.
The source said that the two Syrians were sentenced in absentia to life imprisonment, while the Lebanese national was sentenced to six-months in prison and ordered to pay a LL500,000 ($333) fine.
In 2012, the Lebanese army intercepted a Sierra Leonean-flagged ship named "Lutfallah II" in Lebanon's waters and brought it to Selaata port. Its manifesto listed that it was carrying metals, but an investigation revealed weapons aboard.
The ship, which intended to dock at Tripoli in north Lebanon, was impounded and taken to Beirut port; the weapons, which originated in Libya, were deemed to have been bound for Syrian rebels.
