Lebanon spy count at 25

On Thursday, Lebanon officially accused four additional people with spying on behalf of Israel, which according to an AFP judicial source, brings the total charged since the start of 2009 to 25.

The Lebanese spy hunt is going full steam ahead and shows no sign of abating any time soon. Elections in the country are scheduled for June 7, and in the midst of all the hooplah, officials say that more arrests are expected.

The foursome charged on Thursday – Nasser Nader, Nawal Maaluf (his girlfriend), Mustafa Said and Samer Abu Arraj – have been accused of giving info to the Israelis with the purpose of enabling assassinations. The authorities believe that Nader was behind the intel that got Ghaleb Awali – a senior member of Hezbollah – assassinated by a car bomb in Beirut in 2004. Although Nader is suspected of providing the info that facilitated the assassination, Hezbollah believes Israel was behind Awali’s death.

Those agents convicted of acting on behalf of Israel face life in prison with hard labor or – if their actions contributed to the death of Lebanese – the death penalty.

photo courtesy of www.presstv.ir