Asir, Shaker Charged in Absentia over Sidon Gunbattles
State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr charged on Thursday 27 people, 10 of them in absentia, including Salafist cleric Sheikh Ahmed al-Asir and singer-turned Salafist Fadel Shaker, over the deadly clashes with the Lebanese army.
The charges came after the army intelligence handed over the detained suspects to Saqr on Thursday.
If convinced, the suspects face the death penalty.
According to the state-run National News Agency, Saqr was also handed the preliminary investigation reports.
The fighting near the southern city of Sidon was sparked late last month when Asir's supporters opened fire on an army checkpoint, leaving around 18 soldiers and more than 20 gunmen dead.
The gunbattles concentrated in the area of Bilal Bin Rabah Mosque and nearby buildings in Abra.
Al-Asir, a 45-year-old cleric who supports the overwhelmingly Sunni rebels fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, is no where to be found along with Shaker.
Asir teamed up with Shaker, a onetime prominent singer-turned Salafist, when around two years ago he began agitating for Hizbullah to disarm.
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