Muslim cleric who didn’t appear at terror trial arrested after sentence

November 15, 2010|Associated Press

BEIRUT — A radical Muslim cleric was arrested yesterday at his home in northern Lebanon, two days after a military court sentenced him in absentia to life in prison in a terrorism trial, authorities said.

Omar Bakri Mohammed was taken into custody without a struggle in Tripoli, police and security officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak publicly.

Bakri, who holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship, lived for 20 years in Britain, where he headed the now-disbanded radical Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun. He left Britain for Lebanon in 2005, and the British government barred him from returning.

Lebanese officials said Bakri was among 54 people sentenced Friday in trials of militants who fought deadly clashes with the Lebanese army in 2007. Bakri was convicted of “belonging to an armed group with the aim of carrying out terrorist acts and plotting to kill Lebanese soldiers.’’

Judicial officials said Bakri was sentenced to life because of his failure to show up for his trial. Bakri insisted that he never received a summons.

In a telephone interview, he called the charges “lies and fabrications.’’

Bakri also said his lawyer informed him he had 15 days to turn himself in and appeal the ruling.

It was not immediately clear why authorities did not arrest Bakri earlier. He appears often on Lebanese TV stations as a guest on political talk shows and does not live in hiding.

Bakri became a focus of British attention after he said he would not inform the police if he knew Muslims were planning attacks such as the July 7, 2005, bombings in London that killed 56 people.

The cleric, who has also been criticized in Britain for his fiery sermons, said his Muslim faith prevented him from reporting fellow Muslims to the British police.