Death penalty requested for Lebanese Salafi cleric

A Lebanese judge has demanded the death penalty for a Salafist cleric who is charged with involvement in an attack in southern Lebanon, Press TV reports.

Military judge, Riad Abu Ghida, called for the execution of Ahmed al-Assir and 56 of his followers , who are accused of killing army personnel in clashes in the city of Sidon in June 2013.

The demand comes after at least 18 soldiers and 28 gunmen died in clashes between al-Asir fighters and the Lebanese army.

The suspects are accused of “having formed armed groups that attacked an institution of the state, the army, killed officers and soldiers, took explosive materials and light and heavy weapons and used them against the army,” according to the indictment.

The call for Assir’s execution comes as rival Lebanese factions appear united in their support for the army under a unity government that includes Lebanon’s resistance movement Hezbollah and the March 14 Alliance.

Lebanon has been hit repeatedly over the past few months by terrorist attacks, mainly targeting the capital, Beirut, and the Hezbollah stronghold town of Hermel, in Bekaa Valley.
At least three people were killed and 18 others injured in a car bomb blast at a military post in Hermel on February 22.

The attack, claimed by Abdullah Azzam Brigades, came three days after the group carried out a similar attack on an Iranian cultural center in southern Beirut, killing eight people.