06 June 2009
BEIRUT: The Attorney general's office started investigating a case concerning forged ID cards, after the Interior Ministry delivered some samples that were found and confiscated from locations in Mount Lebanon, pan -Arab daily Al-Hayat reported on Friday. Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud announced Friday that he he will be revealing steps to combat electoral fraud during a news conference at the special election premises inside the Interior Ministry on Saturday.
According to Al-Hayat, Lebanon's attorney General Saeed Mirza assigned criminal investigators to look into the case, saying that they had not made any arrests yet.
Earlier this week, Lebanese authorities confiscated thousands of forged ID cards from both individuals and political parties alike ahead of Lebanon's parliamentary elections.
Up to 10,000 fake identity papers have been seized in the districts of Baabda, Western Bekaa, Zahle and Southern Lebanon over the last few days, Lebanese media reported. The bogus IDs are now in the hands of the security forces, who are taking action against those behind the forgery, pan-Arab daily Ash-Sharq al-Awsat said on Thursday. Initial investigations have so far uncovered a printer used to produce the counterfeit identity cards, the paper said. Around 3,700 fake identity cards have also been discovered at the offices of a major political party, the Al-Liwaa newspaper claimed, citing a well-informed source.
Information about the phony ID cards was first brought to public attention by Prime Minister Fouad Siniora during Tuesday's Cabinet session. - The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2009.
