Radical cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed released
Lebanon today freed the radical Muslim cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed, hours after Britain declared he would not be allowed to return to its shores.
Lebanon’s prosecutor general, Judge Said Mirza, said he ordered Mohammed’s release after it appeared “that he has not committed any crime and there are no criminal records against him.” Mirza added Mohammed was a free man.
It was not immediately clear where Mohammed was headed after his release from the General Security building in east Beirut.
General Security officers arrested Mohammed in Beirut yesterday, five days after he flew to Lebanon on holiday from Britain, where he has lived for the past 20 years. Britain said today it had barred the Muslim cleric from returning because his presence was “not conducive to the public good.”
During his detention, the General Security department said it was questioning Mohammed about the circumstances of his entry to Lebanon.
Lebanese newspapers reported today that Syria would like Lebanon to hand over Mohammed, but this could not be confirmed with the Syrian authorities today - the Muslim sabbath.
Mohammed, 45, holds Syrian and Lebanese citizenship.
He caught British public attention recently when he said he would not inform the police if he knew Muslims were planning attacks such as the July 7 bombings in London that killed 56 people. He claimed Islam prohibited him from reporting Muslims to the British police.
British prosecutors said they were studying Mohammed’s remarks with a view to charging him with solicitation of murder or incitement to withhold information known to be of use to police.
In an interview with Lebanon’s Future TV, recorded minutes before his arrest, Mohammed said he was being targeted for his political views and would not return to Britain. He denied any links to al Qaida or any other group of terrorists.
In Britain, Mohammed founded the now-disbanded radical Islamic group al-Muhajiroun, which came under official scrutiny, particularly after some of its members praised the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
In an interview published in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anba on Friday, Bakri condemned the September 11 attacks, saying he did not condone violence except in cases of resistance against foreign occupation.
He added he did not intend to get involved in political or religious activities while in Lebanon, where he plans to settle.
