Hizbullah Condemns Decision to Release Four 'Israeli Agents'
Hizbullah criticized on Saturday military tribunal judge Alice Shabtini’s decision to release six convicted Israeli spies, questioning her motives and deeming the incident as a dangerous development, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.
The Hizbullah-backed al-Manar television station reported: “This is a dangerous precedent seeing as the accused only served a little more than a month of their 5 to 10-year sentences.”
It questioned the purpose of the release, the judge’s motives, and the timing of the incident.
“Who is she trying to prove herself to seeing as she is one of candidates to head the Higher Judicial Council?” it wondered.
Shabtini had released four of the six accused who have been convicted of collaborating with Israel, reported An Nahar.
The permanent military tribunal had sentenced them to 10 to 15 years in prison and they have been detained for two years and ten months, it added.
The four accused, who are members of the Alam family, won an appeal to reconsider their sentence and they were released, it explained.
Hizbullah deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem condemned the release of the accused, saying that it did not take into consideration their “rich history” of collaborating with Israel.
He stressed that the party will follow up on the issue through the “normal means,” reported An Nahar.
Shabtini told the daily that the decision to release them was unanimous.
She revealed that three of the released are very ill and they were costing the state heavy expenses.
She refuted claims that she took the decision to release them independently from the court, saying that four other officers also took the decision with her.
“I study each case very thoroughly and we all reached an agreement to release the four individuals,” the judge stressed.
“I follow the law and what it stipulates,” she added.
“Israel is my only enemy and all people should all be judged equally,” Shabtini said.
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