Larijani in Beirut: What message is he delivering to Hezbollah?
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Sheikh al-Assir supporters protest in Saida demanding his release
Dozens of supporters of Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir and families of the detained from the Abra events held a sit-in this afternoon, following Friday prayers, in front of the Bilal bin Rabah Mosque in the town of Abra, east of Saida, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the region reported. The protesters carried banners, some of which read: "Free them" and "Save the prisoners." Local activist, Mohammad al-Shamieh delivered a speech during the sit-in, in which he affirmed that the protest actions will continue until the release of Sheikh al-Assir and his companions. Assir was sentenced on Aug. 21, 2021 by the military court to 20 years of hard labor for fighting the Lebanese army in Bhanine in North Lebanon in 2014. A death sentence had already been handed down in 2017 against the Sunni preacher, arrested for the clashes that took place in June 2013 in Abra between Islamists he led and the Lebanese army. 18 soldiers and 11 militiamen were killed in these fights. His companions were sentenced to ten years of hard labor. Assir, who was on the run, was arrested at Beirut airport on Aug. 15, 2015. Having changed his physical appearance, he was almost unrecognizable at the time. He was carrying a fake passport and was trying to flee to Egypt. His relatives and other Islamist detainees regularly demonstrate to demand an amnesty.
