Mustaqbal Lauds Asir's Arrest, Says Killers of Hariri, al-Salman Must Meet Same Fate

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday hailed the arrest of fugitive cleric Ahmed al-Asir while urging authorities to capture those accused of involvement in the murders of former premier Rafik Hariri and anti-Hizbullah activist Hashem al-Salman.

“The bloc lauds the security achievement that the Lebanese General Security made by arresting the fugitive Ahmed al-Asir,” said Mustaqbal in a statement issued after its weekly meeting.

“In this regard, the bloc highlights the eternal truth that justice cannot be achieved unless it is comprehensive, complete and extended across all Lebanese regions,” the bloc added.

It called on security and judicial authorities to “speed up their work” and “make the achievements that the Lebanese people are demanding and awaiting.”

“This should be fulfilled through the arrest of the rest of fugitive criminals, topped by those accused of involvement in the assassination of martyr premier Rafik Hariri and in the rest of the assassinations and bombings,” Mustaqbal said.

It also called for the capture of the suspects in the murder of the young man Hashem al-Salman, “who was assassinated in cold blood and under the sight of all TV reporters outside the Iranian embassy.”

The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has accused five Hizbullah members of involvement in Hariri's 2005 assassination. An in absentia trial got underway after Lebanese authorities failed to arrest any of the five suspects.

Hizbullah has denied involvement in the attack, dismissing the court as a U.S.-Israeli scheme against the party.

Al-Salman was killed in a scuffle between alleged supporters of Hizbullah and protesters from the Lebanese Option Party near the Iranian embassy in Beirut. The demonstrators were holding a sit-in to protest Hizbullah's involvement in the war raging in Syria.

Al-Mustaqbal bloc also called for the arrest of the killers of Sobhi and Nadimeh Fakhri in the Bekaa town of Btedei, accusing Hizbullah of protecting the suspects involved in all the aforementioned crimes.

Al-Asir was arrested Saturday at Beirut's Rafik Hariri International Airport as he was trying to flee to Nigeria via Egypt.

He had been on the run since the 2013 battle with the army in the Sidon suburb of Abra in which around 20 soldiers and many of his supporters were killed.

The anti-Hizbullah cleric was later accused of involvement in several deadly attacks inside the country.

Y.R.