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TEL-AVIV, July 12 (AFP)-A Tel Aviv court Wednesday extended by three months the administrative detention of two Lebanese Shiite Muslim leaders, Sheikh Abdel Karim Obeid and Mustapha Dirani, who were abducted from Lebanon by Israeli commandos. Sheikh Obeid was seized 11 years ago, and Dirani six years ago. Until now the court has always extended their periods of detention by six months at a time. At the end of April the Supreme Court ordered the release of 13 other Lebanese prisoners it was holding without trial or beyond the expiry of their sentences, on the grounds that their detention was a violation of human rights. The men were being held as bargaining chips in an attempt to obtain information about the fate of Ron Arad, an Israeli airman captured during fighting in Lebanon. Sheikh Obeid and Dirani were kept in prison, although they had been seized for the same reason. The prosecutor justified their continuing detention on the grounds that they were a "danger to Israel's security." The Tel Aviv court accepted the validity of the argument. However, the lawyer for the two men, Zvi Rish, criticized the decision, saying his clients had said they would no longer call for anti-Israeli attacks since Israel withdrew its forces from southern Lebanon in May. "In fact, the danger to the state lies in keeping them in detention," he told Israeli radio. |
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