Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir

LEBANON: MILITARY TRIBUNAL SENTENCES TAKFIRI PREACHER TO DEATH FOR ATTACKS ON ARMY

September 28, 2017:

Lebanon's Military Tribunal sentenced an extremist preacher to death for his role in fueling sectarian violence in the Arab country and organizing attacks against members of the army.
The court, chaired by Major General Hussein Abdullah, passed the verdict on Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir on September 28. Thirty-three other defendants also stood trial on terrorism charges.
Assir refused to recognize the ruling. He also rejected his court-appointed lawyer during the trial, saying, “You do not represent me and I do not recognize you.”
Abdullah intervened, asking Assir whether he was threatening the court.
The Takfiri cleric replied that he was “not threatening anyone, but it is my right – as I am representing myself – to advise you not to speak in my name.”
Lebanon’s military prosecutor had sought the death penalty for Assir and more than 50 of his followers over the 2013 attacks against army forces in the Abra neighborhood of the southern city of Sidon.
The clashes resulted in the deaths of 18 army soldiers and at least 40 militants loyal to Assir.