Judicial official unveils Sleiman’s murder mystery

Lebanese authorities have detained seven Syrian individuals for their alleged roles in the kidnapping and killing of Pascal Sleiman, a Lebanese Forces party official who was critical of the Syrian government, according to a statement from a judicial source on Tuesday.

Sleiman served as a local leader for the Lebanese Forces in the Byblos (Jbeil) region, north of Beirut. This group is known for its opposition to the Syrian government and its Lebanese ally, Hezbollah.

The Lebanese Forces are treating the murder of Sleiman as a potential political assassination, despite the military’s assertion that the motive was car theft.

Social media users have speculated that Hezbollah was behind the crime, which has been strongly refuted by its leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

A judicial spokesperson revealed to AFP that the total arrests in connection to the crime have reached seven, all of whom are of Syrian nationality.

According to this spokesperson, the suspects confessed that their intention was to steal Sleiman’s vehicle. They reportedly assaulted Sleiman with the butts of their pistols on his head and face until he ceased to resist, placed him in the trunk of his car, and transported him to Syria, where he succumbed to his injuries en route.

A military source informed AFP that Syria had extradited three of the apprehended individuals and that Sleiman’s remains were discovered in a notorious, lawless region close to the Lebanese-Syrian border.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported finding a body that matched Sleiman’s description in a zone near the border controlled by Hezbollah, noting that the corpse showed signs of blunt force trauma to the head and chest and was covered with a blanket.

In response to the murder, hundreds of Byblos residents took to the streets, blocking roads and showing hostility towards Syrians in the area, many of whom are refugees from Syria’s long-standing civil war.

Lebanon’s acting Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, has decried the murder and urged for calm and restraint from all parties involved.