Beirut: An Islamist whose arrest sparked deadly clashes in Lebanon between pro- and anti-Syrian regime groups was released on bail Tuesday, a judicial official said, media reported on Tuesday.
According to reports the official said that military judge Nabil Wehbe ordered the release of Shadi al-Mawlawi on a bail of 500,000 Lebanese pounds ($333).
Mawlawi’s arrest on May 12 on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization sparked violent clashes in the northern port city of Tripoli, killing at least eight people.
His supporters say he was targeted because he was helping Syrian refugees fleeing the unrest in their country.
The clashes further escalated during the weekend and reached the capital Beirut following the killing of Sheikh Ahmad Abdul Wahid, a prominent Sunni anti-Syrian regime cleric, and his bodyguard, when their convoy supposedly failed to stop at a checkpoint in north Lebanon on Sunday.
The unrest has sparked fears that the violence in neighboring Syria is spilling over into Lebanon.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern on Monday that violence in Syria could reach neighboring Lebanon and reiterated fears it could also develop into a full-blown civil war.
The fighting underscores how the bloodshed in Syria, where President Bashar el-Assad’s regime is cracking down on an uprising against his rule, can fuel violence across the border.
Lebanon has a fragile political fault line precisely over the issue of Syria.
Lebanon and Syria share a complex web of political ties and rivalries, which can easily turn violent.
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