Aazaz Pilgrims' Families Threaten to 'Break Hand' that Tries to Arrest Any Member as Prosecutor Sues 13 in Pilots Case

Mount Lebanon Prosecutor Claude Karam on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against 13 members of the families of the Aazaz abductees on charges of “forming an armed gang and abducting the two Turkish pilots,” state-run National News Agency reported.

Karam referred the case to Mt. Lebanon Investigative Judge Ziad Makna, who interrogated three detainees and issued arrest warrants for them. He also issued 10 arrest warrants in absentia for 10 other suspects, adjourning the session to August 28, NNA said.

Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency identified the 13 suspects as Mohammed Ali Saleh, Nadim Saad Zgheib and Hasan Jamil Saleh – who are in detention – and Nasri Hasan Hammoud, Adham Ali Zgheib, Hussein Mohammed Saleh, Ali Jamil Saleh, Abbas Mohammed al-Hajj Hasan, Abdul Rahman Ali Monzer, Hayat Hasan Awali, Mahdi Hussein Zgheib, Roda Hasan Shoaib and Sami Hasan Awali.

Judge Makna will set a date for summoning and interrogating the ten suspects, Anatolia added.

"We knew about the lawsuits against us from media sources but we were not formally notified," Hayat Awali, a spokeswoman for the families told LBCI television later on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Daniel Shoaib, a relative of one of the Aazaz abductees, told al-Jadeed: "The (Internal Security Forces) Intelligence Bureau is the party that accused us in the kidnapping of the Turkish pilots. The bureau works as an agent for foreign parties."

"We will break the hands of anyone who tries to attack the families of the kidnapped pilgrims," Shoaib warned.

"We accuse these people of lying and their boss (ex-PM) Saad Hariri kidnapped our family members in Aazaz and today the Intelligence Bureau is completing this mission in Lebanon," he added.

Shoaib threatened to block roads to prevent Intelligence Bureau agents from arresting any member of the families, describing the bureau as "illegitimate."

"We abide by the law, but we will not cooperate with such a bureau," he added.

Later on Tuesday, the families issued a statement saying the arrest warrants "will strip the families of the ability to follow up the case of their nine relatives because they designate them as criminals."

They criticized the Lebanese state for failing to seek "an Interpol arrest warrant for Ammar al-Dadikhi when his identity and location were well-known," in reference to the head of the armed group that abducted the pilgrims in Syria's Aazaz on May 22, 2012.

"Perhaps the state will prosecute us tomorrow over our intentions and feelings," said the statement.

"We will conduct broad consultations with anyone who cares about our cause and we'll act accordingly. We are the families of the abductees and we are not the abductors," it added.

Arrest warrants were issued Saturday for Mohammed Ali Saleh, Nadim Saad Zgheib and Hasan Jamil Saleh. On Thursday, four people were summoned for investigation over their links to the abduction.

Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel had told al-Joumhouria newspaper that the individuals are relatives and friends of the Lebanese pilgrims held in Syria's Aazaz region.

He revealed that their names were divulged by Mohammed Saleh, another relative of the pilgrims who was arrested on August 11 over his links to the pilots' kidnapping.

Meanwhile, the families of the Lebanese pilgrims kidnapped in Syria's Aazaz staged a sit-in on Saturday to protest the “arbitrary” arrests of their relatives suspected of taking part in the abduction of the Turkish pilots.

Following the Turkish pilots' kidnapping, the relatives of the pilgrims were quick to deny having any links to the abduction although they have repeatedly accused Turkey of being responsible for the release of their loved ones.

In May 2012, eleven Lebanese pilgrims were kidnapped in Syria's Aleppo region as they were making their way back to Lebanon by land from pilgrimage from Iran. Two of them have since been released, while the rest remain held in Aazaz.