“Israeli”-allied militia returnees accused of collaboration

“Eleven men who returned to Lebanon after fleeing to “Israel” were on Tuesday accused of collaborating with the Jewish state.
The men were among the approximately 6,000 Lebanese who moved into “Israel” during the withdrawal of its troops from the South in May.
They were among at least 400 others who returned, complaining about poor living conditions in “Israel”.
Many of those who fled were militiamen with “Israel’s” now-defunct militia and members of their families.
The men among the returnees turned themselves in to the Lebanese authorities, while women and children were allowed to return to their homes.
The latest 11, due to be tried at a later date to be set by a military court, were accused of “dealing with “Israel”, fighting on the side of an enemy army, entering an enemy country and violating the law providing for boycotting “Israel”,” said Assistant Military Prosecutor Abdullah Hajj.
One suspect, whose name was not disclosed, was also accused of “shelling civilian homes and individuals in Habboush (near Nabatieh) in 1998,” Hajj said in his list of accusations, which still needs the approval of Chief Military Prosecutor Nasri Lahoud.
While all accusations were made under a Penal Code article that carries maximum imprisonment sentences of 15 years with hard labor, the man accused of shelling civilians faces execution if convicted.
Hajj also accused the militiamen Kamal Mohammed Shreim and Ali Abdel-Raouf Ayoub of collaborating with “Israel” and detaining Lebanese Army First Sergeant Izzat Yassin for six years.
Suspected of arresting Yassin at his home village of Houla in the former occupation zone in 1994, the two men will face life imprisonment if convicted.
While Shreim fled to “Israel” and is due to be tried in absentia, Ayoub was among 2,200 collaborators who turned themselves in to the Lebanese authorities after the “Israeli” pullout.
The military court has so far issued sentences ranging between three weeks’ and 15 years’ imprisonment. One person has received a life sentence in absentia; dozens have been acquitted.

The Daily Star, 9-8-2000.