27 July 2013
SIDON, Lebanon: The investigation into the murder of a Syrian Baath Party official this month has widened to include nearly a dozen people, according to security sources. The sources said Friday that Fatima Jemo, the daughter of Mohammad Dirar Jemo, and Farid al-Badawi, aka Farid al-Suri, had been detained by the judicial police in south Lebanon.
Badawi, a Syrian national who owns a clothing store in the area, is a brother-in-law of Siham Younes, Jemo’s wife who was earlier detained in connection with the case along with her brother, Badih Younes, and a nephew, Ali Younes.
Mohammad Mahmoud Khalifeh, a nephew of Siham Younes, as well as the father of Ali Younes, Khalil Younes, have also been detained by police.
Jemo was shot dead by attackers in his home in the coastal town of Sarafand, south of Sidon, last Wednesday.
Siham Younes traveled to Syria for her husband’s funeral but was detained after returning to Lebanon.
The murder was originally thought to be connected to the war in Syria, since Jemo was a prominent supporter of the Syrian regime.
The sources said five Sarafand residents had also been detained over a possible link to the murder. They have been referred to the Anti-Drug Office for investigation.
Copyright The Daily Star 2013.
