Retired General, Wife, Nephew Charged with Spying for "Israel"

Source: Al-Manar TV, 23-4-2009

A retired Lebanese general, his wife and a nephew were charged on Thursday with spying for the Zionist entity, a crime that can lead to life imprisonment or a death sentence, a judicial official declared.

Former security services officer Brigadier General Adib Alam, his wife Hayat Saloumi and nephew Joseph Semaan Alam - also a security official - are accused of informing "Israel" about Lebanese and Syrian military and civilian sites "with the aim of facilitating "Israeli" attacks," the official said.

A fourth suspect, Nicolas Assad Habib, remains at large, said the official, who requested anonymity.

The charge is punishable by life imprisonment with hard labor and possibly the death sentence should the court rule that the spying resulted in the death of Lebanese citizens.

Aalam is also charged with the illegal possession of weapons and the forgery of false identity cards, which he and his wife allegedly used to cross into "Israel" "without authorization," the official said.

The case is now in the hands of Lebanon's top prosecutor for matters of national security, Judge Rashid Mezher.

Aalam and his wife were taken into custody on April 14 on suspicion of spying for the "Israeli" enemy. Several other Lebanese people have been arrested in recent months on similar allegations.