BEIRUT, October 8 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian national charged by Lebanese authorities with terrorism has protested his innocence, a Russian diplomat in the country said on Monday.
Sergei Vysotsky, an 18-year old Muslim, was arrested near the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp on September 2 in "a zone of combat operations," together with three other Russians. On that day, Lebanese troops seized control of the camp from Islamist militants, following two weeks of intense battles that took the lives of over 400 people.
Media reports, citing legal officials and Lebanon's state news agency, reported on Friday that 20 suspected members of Fatah al-Islam had been charged with terrorist attacks, including the murders of Lebanese troops, in the battles at the refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
If convicted, the suspects could face the death sentence.
