Lebanon charges ex-general with spying for Israel

A Lebanese prosecutor charged a former general and three other people with spying for Israel and referred them to the military court, Lebanese media reported Thursday.

Adeeb al-Alam, a retired brigadier general of the prominent General Security directorate, his wife and nephew were arrested this month by the Lebanese police on suspicion of espionage.

A fourth person linked to the cell is still at large, judicial sources said.

The arrests had been described by the local media as a major achievement for the Lebanese security services and a blow to Israel's spying networks monitoring the anti-Israeli guerrilla and political group Hezbollah.

Judge Sakr Sakr charged the four with establishing contact with Israel's Mossad spy agency "and supplying it with information about military and civilian Lebanese and Syrian centers with the aim of facilitating its aggressive acts."

Sakr also accused Alam of possession of weapons and charged him and his wife, Hayat Saloumi, of visiting "the enemy country" without permission.

If indicted and later convicted by the military court, the four could face the death penalty.

Local media had reported Alam had been working for Israel since 1984. He had been in charge of several sensitive positions including the passport department at the General Security directorate.

Reports said security forces had begun monitoring Alam, who now runs an agency that imports Asian domestic workers, shortly after the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.