Muslim Scholars Committee member Sheikh Ihab al-Banna, a former detainee in the 2000 Dinnieh clashes with the Army, was briefly arrested by Army Intelligence Monday.
Al-Banna was arrested outside his home in the Beirut neighbourhood of Ras Al-Nabeh and remained in the custody of the Lebanese Army Intelligence for a few hours before being released later during the day.
Sources from the Muslim Scholars Committee said the reasons behind the brief detention were unfamiliar and said Banna had not been involved in any suspicious activities.
“Banna has only been following up on the case of Islamist detainees in Roumieh prison. Other than that, he has no political activities,” they said.
In January 2000, Lebanese Army troops acting on Syrian orders engaged suspected Islamist militants in the mountainous Dinnieh region east of Tripoli. Following the clashes, the army reported 11 soldiers and 25 militants had been killed, and 55 militants were detained. Al-Banna was among them but was released a few years.
