Nasrallah slams Egyptian verdicts

Hezbollah has denounced Egypt’s move to sentence 26 men with alleged ties to the Lebanese movement to jail terms, calling the move ‘politically motivated.’

In a Thursday statement, Hezbollah’s Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah described the verdicts issued by the Egyptian court as “political and unjust”

Egypt’s Emergency State Security Court convicted the men of plotting attacks against ships in the Suez Canal and tourist sites in the Sinai Peninsula, charges the defendants reject.

The defendants include 22 men, including two Lebanese nationals, rounded up in a series of raids between 2008 and 2009.

Fourteen of those tried were sentenced to 25 years behind bars. Four others, who were tried in abstentia, were handed life sentences.

The court’s ruling cannot be appealed and can only be overturned by a decree from President Hosni Mubarak.

Nasrallah said the defendants were in Egypt to provide logistical support for the besieged Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

He added that the issue will be dealt with diplomatically.