Lebanese court grants bail to cleric accused of inciting terrorism

Nov 24, 2010, 16:55 GMT

Beirut - A Lebanese military court on Wednesday granted bail to Islamist clergyman Omar Bakri, who was sentenced earlier this month to life in jail but has been granted a retrial.

He is accused of inciting terrorism, among other charges.

The court agreed to release Bakri, a Sunni Muslim, on bail of 5 million Lebanese pounds (3,300 dollars) at the request of his lawyer, Nawar al-Shalili, who is a member of the Hezbollah bloc in parliament.

The 50-year-old Bakri, who lived in Britain for 20 years before being expelled, was found guilty earlier this month, along with 40 other Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrians and Saudis, of 'incitement to murder, theft and the possession of arms and explosives.'

However, the outcome of that case were annulled with the start of his latest trial.

Bakri has praised the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and hailed the hijackers as the 'magnificent 19.' He was initially tried in absentia by a military court and sentenced to life imprisonment on November 12.

Three days later he was arrested in the northern port city of Tripoli and must now be retried because he was not present for the initial hearings.

Bakri has appealed to the leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah for help.

'I urge Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah to look at the injustice facing Omar Bakri who backs all resistance (movements) against Israel,' Bakri said in an interview with local television.

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