The preliminary hearings of 20 men suspected of fighting against the Army in 2007 will begin Friday at the Justice Palace amid tight security measures, high-ranking security sources told The Daily Star Thursday.
Judicial Investigative Judge Jean Fahd, head of the Higher Judicial Council, will preside over the trials at the Justice Palace in accordance with a Cabinet decision.
Sources voiced fear that the infamous detainees might start a riot or even refuse to be transported to the courts.
The government has referred the case of some 80 suspected members of Fatah al-Islam to the council, the sources said, adding that around 200 people are suspected of involvement in the fighting between the Army and the Islamist group in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared.
Although Friday’s procedure is a preliminary questioning of the men, it marks the first legal action taken by the judiciary to begin the trials of the Islamists who have been detained in Roumieh prison without charge since 2007.
The Justice Palace will be evacuated at 10:30 a.m. only 30 minutes before the public sector ends its working hours on Fridays.
Police will then search the building accompanied by police dogs and bomb experts prior to the arrival of the 20 men who will come in a large convoy around 11 a.m.
The group of detainees has been at the center of controversy particularly as security forces have lost much control over the prison bloc housing the men.
Eight Fatah al-Islam prisoners were charged last month with the recent killing of a fellow inmate.
