Asir's Trial Adjourned to August
The trial of fugitive Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir and Islamist suspects arrested following clashes with the Lebanese army last year has been adjourned to next month.
The trial of al-Asir and around 40 detained men started Tuesday but was adjourned to August 26 after the court failed to summon all the suspects.
Al-Asir, 45, went into hiding following the deadly gunbattles with the army in in the southern city of Sidon in June 2013. Indictments that called for the death penalty were issued in February against him and 56 of his followers.
The clashes erupted after al-Asir's supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint near the cleric's headquarters in Abra, a suburb of Sidon.
The attack and the fierce clashes that ensued left around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunmen dead.
The gunbattles concentrated in the area of the Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque, where al-Asir was a preacher, and nearby buildings in Abra.
The families of the detainees have held several protests, calling for quick and fair trials.
G.K.
M.T.
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