Bryan Denton for The New York Times
Rajaa Sharaffeddine's father, Shibli al-Aisamy, was kidnapped while visiting her outside of Beirut.
BEIRUT, Lebanon ? The Lebanese police have accused Syria of orchestrating the kidnapping of Syrian dissidents in Lebanon, a country that has served as a haven for them since the uprising against the government of President Bashar al-Assad began nearly eight months ago.
In one case, Shibli al-Aisamy, 89, a co-founder of Syria?s governing Baath Party who has become a leading voice of dissent against Mr. Assad, disappeared in late May while visiting his daughter outside Beirut. He went out for a walk and was picked up by people in a black sport utility vehicle, who spirited him across the border, the Lebanese police said.
In another case, the police said, three Syrian brothers, the Jassems, were kidnapped in February by rogue members of the Lebanese security forces using Syrian Embassy vehicles, again black S.U.V.?s. The Jassem brothers have not been heard from since.
In closed-door testimony before the Lebanese Parliament in October, the head of the Internal Security Forces, Gen. Ashraf Rifi, said Syria was behind both kidnappings and presented a detailed report with license plate numbers, cellphone records and statements from witnesses that he said implicated Lebanese security officers and tracked the cars to the Syrian border.
A parliamentary report on his testimony, later leaked to the news media, said that General Rifi ?personally accuses the Syrian Embassy in Lebanon of kidnapping Aisamy in an operation that was similar to the abduction of the Jassem brothers.?
Syria has a long history of meddling in Lebanon with impunity, and occupied it militarily until 2005, when it was accused of involvement in the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri.
General Rifi?s report suggests that Syria can still reach across the border to repress dissent, with the aid of members of Lebanon?s security forces, its former client.
A spokeswoman for the Syrian Embassy denied the accusations, saying that they were not supported by evidence. She added that the embassy was closely following both cases with the Lebanese authorities.
The leaked report ignited a firestorm of debate in Lebanon, which remains deeply divided between those opposed to Syria and those allied with it.
Syria maintains a great deal of influence here. Its ally, the Shiite militant movement Hezbollah, is the single most powerful political player, and has the ability to bring down the government. Pro-Syrian parties, including Hezbollah, have a majority in Parliament.
The Lebanese government has made no public comment or taken any official action on the kidnapping accusation.
?These cases are shocking, but I would be lying if I said I am surprised,? said Nadim Houry, Human Rights Watch?s senior researcher for Syria and Lebanon. ?Anything that is slightly sensitive or that touches Syria, Lebanese judiciary is incapable to do anything about it.?
More than 5,000 Syrians have fled to Lebanon since the crisis escalated in mid-March, human rights groups say, and many of them have been subject to daily threats and forced to change their locations periodically. There have also been reports of Syrian troops? crossing briefly into Lebanon and firing on people trying to flee.
The kidnapping cases appear to demonstrate Mr. Assad?s intent to prevent Lebanon from becoming a refuge for Syrian dissidents, and a staging ground for plots against his government.
Mr. Aisamy?s daughter, Rajaa Sharafeddine, said her father was kidnapped on May 24, five days after he had arrived in Lebanon from the United States, where he holds permanent residency. At about 4:30 p.m., she said, he left his house in Aley, in the mountains overlooking Beirut, for his daily walk and never returned.
A month or so later, a witness told the police that a black S.U.V. with dark tinted windows had pulled up in front of Mr. Aisamy during his walk and he was taken away. According to the police report, two other witnesses said they saw three black S.U.V.?s with tinted windows on the same road that day, a strange site on a rural road.
The three crossed into Syria that day through the Masna?a border crossing, according to General Rifi?s investigation.
Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=04092296cfdcc0fc022d42f19a49a084
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