Khaberni - The Lebanese judiciary charged four individuals, among them one detainee and others in hiding, with dealing with the Israeli Mossad and kidnapping the public security's retired captain, Ahmed Shukr.
A judicial source told AFP on Thursday, "The Government Commissioner at the Military Court filed claims against 'one detained Lebanese, and three others hidden from view': a Lebanese, a person holding both Lebanese and French nationality, and another holding both Syrian and Swedish nationality."
They were charged with "communicating with the Mossad and working for its benefit within Lebanon in exchange for financial sums, and carrying out the kidnapping operation of Ahmed Shukr on December 17, 2025."
The Lebanese authorities had been investigating since last December the disappearance of Shukr, who is believed to have had his brother Hassan among the group who captured Israeli pilot Ron Arad after his plane was shot down in southern Lebanon in 1986. Hassan Shukr was killed in 1988 in confrontations with the Israeli forces then.
A judicial source in December stated that investigators were considering the possibility that Shukr "was killed by Israeli agents or transferred to Israel", and based on communications activities and surveillance cameras, they reached "initial leads suggesting that Shukr was lured from his hometown in the village of Nabi Sheet to a point near Zahlé, where he then disappeared."
The source indicated that "the lure was executed by two Swedish nationals who arrived in Lebanon two days before the kidnapping, with one of them leaving via Beirut airport on the day Shukr disappeared."
The case of Ron Arad is a highly sensitive issue in Israel, where returning missing or captive soldiers is seen as a "national duty." On the other hand, Lebanese security agencies continue to pursue individuals suspected of cooperating with Israel, particularly amidst the economic crisis which makes some individuals more susceptible to financial recruitment. Previous sentences have been issued against defendants in similar cases involving up to 25 years imprisonment.
This case reflects the ongoing tension between Lebanon and Israel, and the continuing repercussions of historical files in the complex relationship between the two countries.
