Security forces have arrested a Lebanese fugitive suspected of ties to Osama Bin Laden's Al Qaeda network, ahead of a trial scheduled to begin next week, judicial sources said in Beirut Tuesday.
Abdullah Mohamad al-Muhtadi was handed over to a military court and indicted on Tuesday by judge Riad Talih, the sources said. It was not clear when the arrest took place.
Muhtadi and two other Lebanese, Mohamad Ramez Sultan and Khaled Omar Minawi, as well as Saudi national Ihab Dafaa are to face trial before the court starting December 16.
They are accused of trying to set up a "multinational terrorist group to commit crimes, subvert state authority and carry out terrorist acts" as well as plotting to help fugitive Al Qaeda members and Lebanese Muslim fundamentalists. If convicted, they face prison terms of at least five years, according to AFP.
Sultan, Minawi and the Saudi were indicted on October 22, following their arrest in Lebanon on suspicion of links with the Al-Qaeda network.
Eighteen other fugitive suspects have also been indicted in absentia. They come from Lebanon, the Palestinian territories, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Yemen. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
