Seventy-five Lebanese Christian and anti-Syrian activists jailed earlier this month were freed on Monday with a warning and a fine of three million pounds ($2,000) each, a judicial source said.
Among them was the retired general Nadim Lteif, who leads the supporters of exiled general Michael Aoun, the former Lebanese prime minister who led Christian forces into battle against Syria in 1989 before fleeing to France a year later.
Those jailed in the Lebanese army crackdown from August 5-8 were charged with "harming relations with a brother country," in reference to Syria, and insulting Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, who enjoys close links to Damascus, said AFP.
The source said 17 people belonging to the banned Lebanese Forces (LF) militia were still detained.
Among those still behind bars are former LF political advisor Tawfiq Hindi as well as two journalists, Antoine Bassil, a correspondent for Saudi Arabia's MBC television, and Habib Younes, a correspondent for the London-based Al Hayat.
The three are accused of having established contacts with an Israeli official, Odid Zaray, the press attache of the former coordinator of Israeli activities in southern Lebanon, Uri Lubrani.
Two weeks ago, the army's intelligence services, which are under the president's authority, arrested some 200 Christian activists hostile to the Syrian troop presence in their country. Some of them were released before Monday.
Expected to be among the freed is Adonis Akra, 55, a Sorbonne graduate, philosophy professor, vice president of the Arab Philosophers Union, author of Political Terrorism and father of five, said the Daily Star.
The court had accused Akra of “instigating racist and sectarian ideas and feelings … particularly among university students.”
Akra was accused of conveying to his students “Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) views,” which label Lebanon’s sovereignty as “incomplete,” and of repeatedly condemning Syrian “tutelage” in the country.
Members of the “unlicensed” FPM and banned LF on Saturday were accused of “holding secret meetings with the aim of fomenting public turmoil in the country and shaking international confidence in Lebanon.”
Earlier Monday, a car bomb exploded without causing injuries near the Beirut headquarters of the judiciary where some of the activists were on trial, police said.
Asked about the incidents, Transportation Minister Najib Mikati told reporters that the blast was "the work of a fifth column" and that "the forces of evil are looking to undermine Lebanese unity."
Monday overnight, the office of the president of the bar association in north Lebanon, George Murani, was ransacked by strangers, police said.
On August 9-10, Murani's bar association and its Beirut counterpart observed a strike to protest against the crackdown on the Christian and anti-Syrian activists and the way they were carried out.
Also on Monday, Lebanese Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh told the press that the army's brutality during the arrests had "harmed Lebanon's image abroad.”
There were also reports that Syria on that day moved 15 tanks and 100 military trucks loaded with equipment into the Beirut area of Dhahr Al Baydar.
Damascus has voiced its support for Lahoud and the army for the widely-criticized moves, which were made behind the back of the cabinet – Albawaba.com
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