Lebanon stepped up its army-led crackdown on anti-Syrian groups Friday, referring 15 Christian activists to judicial authorities and arresting another member of their ranks, court sources told AFP.
The pro-Syrian military and security services also issued a new warning to two main anti-Syrian Christian groups that suffered massed arrests this week, sparking fears that the regime is turning toward authoritarianism, AFP and the Daily Star reported.
Christian politicians and religious leaders have been among the most critical of Syria's political dominance over its smaller neighbor. Syria has stationed thousands of troops in Lebanon since 1976, in the early part of the country's civil war.
All 15 Christian militants were referred to courts for "violence against security forces," court sources told the agency.
Twelve of the 15, accused of belonging to banned organizations, were also referred to civilian courts.
Three of them, arrested during a heated exchange with anti-riot police in front of the central court, were also referred to Beirut military court for alleged violence against security forces.
Meanwhile, another militant, Georges Aalam, 37, was taken away from his home north of Beirut by plainclothes agents late the previous day, his wife told AFP.
"When I asked them to show a warrant, the one who seemed to be in charge replied 'we have a military order,'" she said.
In the meantime, the Central Security Council, which groups the heads of the pro-Syrian military, the security forces and intelligence agencies, on Friday reaffirmed an existing ban on political strikes and assembly without securing a permit in advance.
The announcement came in a statement released following a meeting grouping Interior Minister Elias Murr, State Prosecutor Adnan Addoum and the heads of several intelligence and security bodies, said the Star.
The council reiterated calls for groups to secure an official permit before assembling or distributing political leaflets.
The statement said that “any political group that does not enjoy an official license or permit is banned from staging demonstrations or organizing strikes.”
The council justified recent actions by the army, Internal Security Forces and intelligence agencies, maintaining that the detentions were backed by arrest warrants.
Addum said 75 people were still being held at the headquarters of the defense ministry, near Beirut.
Among them are Toufic Hindi, advisor to the former head of Lebanese Forces, Christian militia leader Samir Geagea, and retired general Nadim Lteif, coordinator in Lebanon of Aoun's group.
Aoun, a former Lebanese prime minister, declared a "war of liberation against the Syrian occupier" in 1989 before a Syrian-led military offensive forced him to exile in France a year later.
Addum also said that 53 people were released on their own recognizance, while 49 appeared in court, and 10 students were sentenced to jail terms.
Also on Friday, the Beirut Bar Association carried out a work stoppage for the second straight day, and said it would file lawsuits against the "illegal arrests" in front of the Justice Palace by plainclothes agents from the army intelligence service on Thursday.
"We have decided to file (the lawsuit) against all those proven to have carried out a crime against the dignity and the safety of lawyers and citizens, and in violation of the law," they said in a statement, cited by the paper.
Lebanon is struggling to recover from decades of civil war and an Israeli invasion that left behind orphans, minefields and ruined infrastructure – Albawaba.com
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