Lebanon
hands down 16 more sentences for collaboration with Israel
A Beirut military court handed down 16 more sentences against Lebanese accused of collaborating with Israel during its 22-year occupation of the country, judicial sources said Thursday.
Out of the 16 sentences ordered by the court late Wednesday, two -- a death penalty and a life sentence -- were handed down in absentia, they said.
The rest were given sentences ranging from five months to five years in prison, they said.
The marathon trials, which began just 10 days after Israels troop pullout from south Lebanon in May 2000, have so far led to the judgment of 2,412 people, out of some 3,010 Lebanese who were arrested on charges of collaboration or surrendered to authorities.
So far, 18 people have been sentenced to death and four others to life in prison, all in their absence.
The
trials mainly concern members of the South Lebanon Army, a militia set up by
Israel to assist the Jewish state's 22-year occupation. Others have been
sentenced for crossing the border to work in Israel.
AFP,
28-3-2001.