Shebli al-Aysamy’s Daughter Demands Hizbullah Mediate Release of Her Father

Rajaa Sharafeddine, the daughter of a Syrian opposition member who was allegedly kidnapped in the eastern Lebanese region of Aley, has demanded that Hizbullah mediate with its close ally Syria the release of her father, Shebli al-Aysami.

She told the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat in remarks published on Thursday that the Syrian regime “should not turn its mistake into a sin and it should therefore ensure his immediate release.”

She added that she had not received any response from Syrian officials to her pleas to release al-Aysami.

“We have exhausted all means to contact them,” she stressed.

“All Lebanese forces have voiced their sympathy with us, especially PSP leader MP Walid Jumblat and MP Akram Chehayeb,” Sharafeddine said.

“The Lebanese state is obligated to uncover the sides that kidnapped al-Aysami,” she continued.

She stated that she was certain that her father has been handed over to the Syrian regime.

Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour had asserted in the past that there is no evidence indicating that Syrian opposition members were kidnapped in Lebanon.

The March 14 camp has meanwhile accused the Lebanese government of providing cover to the security officials who have allegedly abducted these opposition figures.

In addition, the executive board of the Syrian National Council has expressed its concern with reports by rights groups that 13 Syrian national have been kidnapped.

It said in a letter to Prime Minister Najib Miqati: "The Council is very worried that opposition members are being handed over to the Syrian security services and as such risk death.”

Aysami is a co-founder of Syria's ruling Baath party but fled his native Syria in 1966 over political differences with the group. He was last seen in the eastern Lebanese region of Aley.

Three Syrian brothers also went missing in March after one of them was seen in Beirut distributing tracts for a demonstration against the regime in Damascus.

According to Lebanese authorities, some 5,000 Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon since the outbreak of the revolt in Syria last March.