Relatives of Military Victims Reject Settlement over Shaker, Urge Death Penalty for Assailants against Army
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The relatives of the victims of the army, who were killed in various clashes against extremists over the past two years, rejected on Sunday a possible settlement that would pardon fugitive Fadel Shaker.
They demanded during a rally in downtown Beirut the death penalty against “all who assaulted the army and created incitement against it.”
“We reject putting the assailants on trial, but they should be hanged. We refuse any other alternative,” he added.
“We are here to pay our respects to the martyrs and reject any settlement at their expense,” they added.
“The blood of our sons is not for sale. The families of the victims decide about giving a pardon,” continued the demonstrators.
“Officials should not even think about striking a settlement over the lives of our martyrs,” they stressed.
“Shame on every Lebanese who does not value the blood of our martyrs,” they stated angrily.
“We salute the military and those who gave their lives for Lebanon,” they declared.
They urged Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji to “strike with an iron fist” terrorism in the northern city of Tripoli, northeastern border town of Arsal, the North and Bekaa.
Media reports had in recent days speculated that a settlement would be reached to issue a pardon to former singer Shaker, who had joined the Salafist movement in recent years and supported cleric Ahmed al-Asir.
Asir's supporters were involved in 2013 in clashes with the army in the area of Abra in the southern city of Sidon.
At least 18 soldiers and dozens of gunmen were killed in the fighting.
In an interview recently, Shaker -- who has been on the run for nearly two years -- said he wants to return to his "normal, natural life" with his friends and family. He denied that he took part in the clashes.
He is currently residing in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh and is wanted, along with some 50 others, for crimes against the army.
Though he grew to become one of the Arab world's most famous singers, Shaker suffered through a miserable childhood of poverty, which a onetime musician friend says helped lead him down a dark path later in life.
Now in his mid-forties, Shaker was born to a Palestinian mother and Lebanese father in the country's biggest Palestinian refugee camp, Ain el-Hilweh.
Born Fadel Shmandur, he began his career as a popular wedding singer who performed from the rooftops of the camp, an over-crowded and hopeless place.
In his prime, Shaker sang love songs that were instant region-wide hits. He released his first album in the late nineties, and continued to perform until 2011.
Shaker's brother had long been a strict Muslim, and he tried for years to convince him to leave music.
But it wasn't until after the outbreak of an uprising in Syria against President Bashar Assad that Shaker became convinced that singing is haram, or forbidden in Islam.
Shaker soon became the best-known face of Asir's small movement of openly sectarian, Sunni radicals and praised the cleric as "the lion of the Sunnis."
M.T.
15 March 2015, 11:45
87
where were these patriotic aounis who are now part of the iranian axis when hezbollah killed Pilot Samer Hanna in cold blood.
15 March 2015, 12:24
75
He was judged and had a fair verdict: 6monthes jail... He mistaken the lebanese army helicopter for some bird (the zionist enemy had certainly a role in it..)
Anyway justice should be maid, no deal with criminels not those of abra or any others, but law above all and same justice for all!
15 March 2015, 14:09
66
you keep using Samer Hanna's death for your propaganda, but hear what his family has to say to blood dealers like you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w70hXkWY6as&html5=1
15 March 2015, 14:45
56
U are really lame, putting a video of the aouni cousin deffending aoun...
U really don't care about anything else than aoun and readdy to cover lebanese army blood just for the sake of ur retarded leadder.
THIS IS WHAT SAMEar HANNA's MOTHER SAID:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JnF8pnSRxW8
15 March 2015, 14:50
56
And more THE MATHEr OF MARTYR SAMER HANNA:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nX-CZPIFyiI
Justice to all our soldiers, those martyrs in abra (and we wanna know what were doing hezbos and their brigades there), justice to samer hanna, francois el hajje, wissam el hassan...
Same Law above all same justice for all..
15 March 2015, 14:54
56
But over all mowaten u are a DISGRACE u and this cousin of samer hanna on your video, u have access all the videos of samer hana mothers, u have a minimum comon sence to judge that 9month jail for deliberatley killing a lebanese army officer while on duty on an army helicopter and 10M LL is not fair... And yet u chose to put online the stupid aounist cousin???? Patriotic???DISGRACE!!!
15 March 2015, 15:02
63
"9month jail for deliberatley killing a lebanese army officer" would indeed be absolutely unacceptable, but only because of the insiduous lie you put in that sentence: no, there was nothing -deliberate- about it, it was an accident, the shooter was handed to the army tribunal immediately and this is what the judges found.
US, UK and other coalition members have countless times shot each other by mistake in iraq, afghanistan or elsewhere, yet none of the people involved did as much as 1 day in jail. It's called friendly fire, and it's sad but it happens.
15 March 2015, 15:04
54
when speaking of "deliberately killing army officers" you should remember the 18 soldiers that were killed when assir, shaker and their goons attacked the army checkpoint in saida. that was a deliberate act, and yet where are they? samer hanna's shooter was handed to the army immediately, but where are shaker, assir and the hundreds of others? and let's not even mention arsal and tripoli where hundreds of soldiers haave been killed by the people you defend, all the while claiming to denounce samer hanna's killing.
15 March 2015, 15:10
54
He has mistaken a lebanese army hellicopter for a bird??? Man please stop it!!!
It is becoming disgusting, love aoun (who's first reaction was ; and was samer hanna doing here!!) as u want but please stop insulting the blood of our martyrs!!
Like beddawi and nassrallah red lines, like shaker el absi and the way he came from syria u always try to find "situation attenuantes" to minimize hezbos and aoun's ally responssability, stop this mascarade, one justice for all, we should all be under the same rule of law sunni fanatics shias fanatics christian fanatics, all equale in frimt of the law
I donnot care who will be president as long he move that way, but it seems aoun care so much about presidency to turn a blind eye each time the allies step on the law, and even if it means the assassination of lebanese army officers while on duty because by mistake they thought it was a bird....
15 March 2015, 16:13
53
again, bsing your rant on insiduous lies. who ever said anything about a bird? he mistook it for an israeli helicopter as it was coming from the south. if you can't hold your argument without making up BS and distorting it clearly means you know are talking BS. you're a hypocrite and a propagandist, that's all you are.
15 March 2015, 18:26
34
U dare talk about distorting fact when u purpously post a video of the aouni cousin of samer hana as a proof of his family stand and u dismiss the mother repetitive interviews...
Now u come tell us that the poor hezbos had mistaken a lebanese army hellicopter with an israelly one??? U are readdy to say anything change facts, use aouni cousin, u are readdy to create any bullshit to try to clear this sectarian millicia image, to give it impunity just because it is backing aoun...
U must listen back to aoun speach during syrai accountablity act and his stands on hezbollah then, maybe hearing this by the voice of ur hero general can help openning ur eyes..
15 March 2015, 19:46
24
... U are really a hypochrite, trying to make hezbos looks good even at the cost of our army...
Anyway justice should be maid, no deal with criminels not those of abra or any others, but law above all and same justice for all!
As for u go listen to aoun decribtion of hezbollah during hos speeches pro syrian accountablity act maybe it would open ur mind, and imaybe u would coe to ur sence that all extremists are to be judged that we must all be equal in front of the law.. Maybe...
15 March 2015, 13:50
32
While i agree and sympathize with the protestors against any settlement, the sad truth is there is a major political force that wants shaker pardoned which can't be ignored, right or wrong. Possible benefits is that it may have something to do with the release of our soldiers in Syria or it may help to reduce shia sunni tensions in the country. Perhaps Shaker will be forced to educate others to abandon the salafist path. If we are really lucky, he might even focus his new found freedom to write and sing songs against the non-islamic leaderships in the gulf countries and saudi arabia.
15 March 2015, 14:34
42
unless he can provide our army solid intelligence which yield results (capturing weapons and arrests or jihadi death) we should not make any compromise especially a full pardon! if he suppied our army woth valuable info he should still get a light sentence of some sort
15 March 2015, 14:54
24
If he is guilty he should pay dearly and if he is not set him free no deals
16 March 2015, 03:48
00
If anything, I believe Shaker should get a more severe punishment than a regular man as this person in particular is seen as a role model to many other young men.
