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Third Arrest in Lebanese Spying Scandal
The Lebanese security services are reported to have arrested a third telecoms employee in a wide ranging clamp-down on spying in the country. Two employees of the mobile network, Alfa have been arrested within the past month, accused of spying for Israel.
A source told the AFP news agency that the new suspect is a former employee within the telecoms sector, but did not name the former employer.
A 56 year old man, identified only as "Charbel Q" by the government and said to have been a key manager for the BTS side of the Alfa network was arrested last month and charged earlier this week with spying for Israel. At the same time, a second person was arrested as a suspected accomplice.
The third man is not known to have been associated with the other two suspects, although he is reported to have been a transmission engineer for Alfa.
Telecommunications Minister Charbel Nahhas said the telecom sector was now "in the intensive care" unit, as reports emerged that the security services could be investigating two more telecoms technicians on allegations of spying for Israel.
Israel has not commented on the arrests.
The government has been engaged in a wide-spread clampdown on spying and over 70 people have been arrested since last April. As Lebanon remains technically at war with its southern neighbour, being convicted of spying can lead to the death penalty. Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has called on the government to execute the death sentences against the alleged spies without delay, praising the stance of President Michel Sleiman who expressed readiness to sign any death sentence verdict.
Lebanon's two mobile networks are owned by the government, but managed on a concessionary basis by Alfa and MTC Touch.
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