Lebanese authorities announced they had detained Syrian opposition figure Ramez Najib as-Sayid and his Lebanese wife, Salam Shuker, in addition to UNIFIL worker Hani Matar in southern Lebanon, on charges of spying for Israel.
The official Lebanese National News Agency published a statement by the General Directorate of Public Security on Sunday, November 8, stating: "in the context of its follow-up operations to combat terrorism and espionage, the General Directorate of Public Security arrested a spying network for the Israeli enemy in the south, where the Syrian (as-Sayid) and his Lebanese wife (Shuker), and the Lebanese (Matar) were arrested. During the interrogation, the detainees admitted the accusations attributed to them. They confessed they were commissioned to collect information about security and military targets for later targeting, having filmed sensitive roads and places in the south, and providing photos to their employers for use in future attacks."
"After the interrogation, under the supervision of the Government Commissioner of the Military Court, Judge Saqr Saqr, the detainees were transferred to the special court, and work is underway to monitor and arrest all those involved and to bring them to justice," the statement added.
Ramiz as-Sayid, born in the coastal city of Tartous, is head of organizational affairs for the Syrian Democratic People’s Party in Lebanon and is known for his opposition towards the Assad regime through his Facebook posts.
Enab Baladi learned that as-Sayid was arrested on October 28 by the Lebanese Public Security Service, which also arrested his wife, activist Salam Shuker, two days later.
The Central Committee of the Syrian Democratic People’s Party demanded the "immediate release of our comrades, Salam and Ramiz", calling on all Lebanese forces to contribute to securing their freedom.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
