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| Canadian imprisoned for
spying for Israel Bruce Balfour to be tried Aug. 11 |
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| A Canadian national, Bruce Balfour, was
arrested upon his arrival in Beirut on July 10 on charges of spying for Israel, State
Prosecutor Adnan Addoum announced Wednesday. “His arrest came in compliance with an arrest warrant that had been issued by a military court,” he told reporters at the Justice Palace. He would not elaborate on the charges but said Balfour, a priest, was scheduled for a trial on Aug. 11. Earlier Wednesday, a Canadian diplomat told AFP that Balfour, 52, from Alberta, was sent to Roumieh central prison, northeast of Beirut, without the Lebanese authorities disclosing the charges against him. Roumieh prison authorities failed to inform the Canadian Consulate until several days after his detention, contrary to the Geneva Conventions, which stipulates a maximum 48-hour period for consuls to be informed of the arrest of one of their nationals abroad, the unidentified diplomat said. After visiting Balfour in jail, the diplomat said that he had access to food, money and to clean laundry. The source also expressed the hope that the investigating magistrate would arrange a hearing as soon as possible to inform Balfour of the charges against him. Balfour told the diplomat that he was arrested after showing his passport to officials at Beirut airport, and believed he was imprisoned “because he’d gone to a neighboring country.” Canadian Foreign Ministry spokesman Reynalf Boiron confirmed that Balfour had been arrested. “We asked the Lebanese authorities what happened. We don’t know why he was imprisoned,” he said. The Canadian press reported that his arrest may be linked to an earlier visit to Israel. Foreign nationals who have stayed in Israel are not allowed to enter Lebanon. Yet they are rarely imprisoned and instead normally deported by Lebanese authorities. With agencies |
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