Thursday, 21 April 2011 02:40
Seven members of pan-Islamic party Hizb ut-Tahrir were arrested in Lebanon for posting leaflets calling for a Friday protest against the Syrian regime, a party spokesman told Agence France Presse on Tuesday.
“The Lebanese army on Tuesday arrested three members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the southern city of Sidon as they were posting leaflets around the city calling for demonstrations against the Syrian regime on Friday in Tripoli,” spokesman Ahmed al-Qasas told AFP.
Four other people were arrested in the northern port city of Tripoli on Monday when they too tried to hand out leaflets calling for a rally on Friday.
Hizb ut-Tahrir (Arabic for “Party of Liberation”) is an international movement that seeks to restore the caliphate, or unite all Muslim countries under one Islamic rule.
The group has a strong presence in Asia, mainly Indonesia, and has spread to several Arab countries, where it is for the most part banned.
Hizb ut-Tahrir is not banned in Lebanon, however, although the group recognizes neither official borders nor the country’s constitution.
The party has called for a rally after Friday prayers in Tripoli to support Syrian protesters, who since March have taken to the streets in increasingly heated protests against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.(AFP)
