 TRIPOLI: MP Mosbah Ahdab said on Wednesday that there was no evidence to date to disprove that a Syrian security guard who had shot at the deputy's home had committed suicide in prison. Ahdab's update came during a news conference held at his Tripoli home. Rumors of foul play have circulated since the discovery of Jihad Abdel-Hamid Akleh's body last Thursday in his cell at the Justice Palace in Tripoli. Unidentified gunmen fired multiple gunshots on the MP's home in the early hours of May 14. The deputy is married with three children.
"When investigations began, Akleh tried to escape several times before finally giving himself up to police and confessing to having shot at my house," Ahdab said. "We were all shocked because he was a close friend of the family. | "Nothing personal, Mosbah. Just business" |
"In his testimony Akleh told the police that he was forced by a 'certain party' to fire at my house. However, he committed suicide before continuing the interrogations." | Yeah, I can see why there might be "rumors" |
Ahdab denied multiple rumors that he was not in Tripoli at the time of the shooting, that he owed Akleh money or that he had ordered Akleh to fire on his house so that he could accuse Syria of the attack. "If the incident aimed at exerting pressure on me to change my political positions, (those responsible should realize) that is impossible," the deputy said. "My positions are based on firm national convictions." Ahdab said he regretted Akleh's death and urged his family to contact the authorities if they had any relevant information. The MP had praise for acting Interior Minister Ahmad Fatfat for assigning a committee to investigate the incident.
North Lebanon Bar Association President Fadi Ghantous asked Fatfat last week to have medical examiners determine the cause of death, after concerns were aired in Tripoli and the North that Akleh had died while being tortured in prison.
| "Well, he could have gotten those bruises while trying to climb the stairs" |
Asked if he believed Syria was connected to the suicide, Ahdab said he did not have a problem with any Syrians. "Many were born in Tripoli and have the Syrian identity; Akleh was one of them," he added.| "and we don't expect any more problems from him" |
|