Lebanese cleric sentenced to death for clashes with army

What started as clashes between Ahmed Al Assir's supporters and opponents turned into a deadly, days-long standoff with the Lebanese army that killed 18 soldiers

Supporters of detained Lebanese hardline Sunni Islamist cleric Ahmad Al Assir carry his picture as they protest after a Lebanese military court sentenced him to death by execution, in Sidon, southern Show more

BEIRUT // A Lebanese military tribunal on Thursday sentenced a radical cleric to death for his role in 2013 clashes that killed 18 soldiers.

In a trial that lasted for two years, Ahmed Al Assir, had gained support in southern Lebanon for his vocal criticism of Hizbollah's involvement in Syria's civil war, sparking tension between Sunni and Shiite Muslims who support opposing sides.

What started as clashes between Al Assir's Sunni supporters and opponents turned into a deadly, days-long standoff with the Lebanese army that killed 18 soldiers.

The cleric used Twitter and Facebook at the time to call on supporters to join the fight with the army and urged soldiers to defect from the military.

After the clashes, Al Assir went into hiding and was only caught two years later trying to flee Lebanon in disguise and with a forged passport.

The court convicted Al Assir of illegal possession of weapons and pre-meditated killing of soldiers. He was also accused of forming an armed group that undermined the state's authority and inciting sectarianism.

During the trial, he refused to recognise the court's authority and before Thursday's sentencing, he repeated his claim that the tribunal is politically motivated and accused it of being influenced by Iran, the main backer of Hizbollah and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

According to an official, Al Assir was not present during the verdict, though he had attended the hearings earlier, along with 21 other defendants in the case. At least 11 others were tried in absentia.

The court also handed down death sentences to six other defendants, all in absentia. Al Assir's two sons, who were also tried in absentia, got life in prison while a famous singer and cleric's supporter, Fadl Shaker, was sentenced to 15 years. Shaker was also tried in absentia.

After the ruling became public, families of the defendants blocked the road in the southern town of Abra to protest the verdict. Al Assir's lawyers have 15 days to appeal the verdict.

In Beirut, Al Assir's relatives and supporters gathered outside the military tribunal. Women carried posters denouncing the trial as a "conspiracy."

The last time Lebanon carried out a death sentence was in 2004.