Lebanon: Death sentence to 4 convicted of collaborating with Israel
Judges find defendants guilty of 'knowingly conspiring with Israel, allowing it to launch attack against Lebanon.' Two of defendants tried in absentia because they apparently fled to Israel
Military judges in Lebanon issued the death sentence to four people found guilty of collaborating with Israel.
Lebanese media outlets reported Wednesday that two of the defendants were tried in absentia because they had apparently fled to Israel.
The two who were present for the trial were a staff sergeant in the Lebanese internal security apparatus and his wife. The staff sergeant's sister and her husband, who were also sentenced to death, had apparently fled the country.
The four were found guilty of "knowingly conspiring with Israel, allowing it to launch an attack against Lebanon and to make contacts with its agents in Lebanon."
Lebanese authorities are holding up to 30 suspects in what security sources say is a widening investigation into espionage for Israel.
Senior Lebanese security officials have said the arrests have dealt a severe blow to Israel's spy networks in Lebanon.
They said many of the suspects played key roles in identifying Hezbollah targets that were bombed during a 34-day war between Israel and the Shiite group in 2006.
Others have been charged with monitoring senior Hezbollah officials and at least one is alleged to have played a role in the 2004 assassination of a commander of the group.
In October a UN investigation into explosions in south Lebanon indicated that Israel had planted spy devices on Lebanese land. The UNIFIL peacekeeping force in Lebanon said its preliminary probe into two explosions in the south showed they had been caused by the detonation of underground sensor devices.
The units were apparently buried by Israeli forces during the 2006 war with the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, it said.
Last May Lebanese police displayed sophisticated devices that they said Israel used to spy on Hezbollah, including a water cooler fitted with sensors to survey the landscape.
Other devices shown to reporters and photographers included a car battery charger that the police said was used to store and transmit data and USB flash drives containing detailed maps of Lebanon.
Some of the maps showed bridges and military outposts that were hit by Israeli warplanes during the 2006 war with Hezbollah, police said.
The equipment was seized from Palestinians and from Lebanese who were spying for Israel, they said.
Reuters and AP contributed to the report
