Al-Rahi Heads to Doha, Urges Qatar to Help Unveil Fate of Syrian Bishops

by Naharnet Newsdesk 22 October 2013, 19:42

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Tuesday traveled to Doha at an invitation from Qatar's ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, hoping Qatari officials will help unveil the fate of two Christian bishops who were abducted by an armed group in Syria.

Asked at the Rafik Hariri International Airport whether he will discuss the issue of bishops Boulos Yazigi and Yohanna Ibrahim with the Qatari officials, al-Rahi said: “In the name of all the Lebanese and on behalf of the nine freed Lebanese (pilgrims) and their families, I thank Qatar for its major role in their release … and of course I hope the Qatari officials will use all their influence to unveil the fate of the two bishops, in addition to three other priests who were kidnapped and their fate remains unknown until the moment.”

“I will also call for liberating all those who are unjustly detained, wherever they may be, because this thing is against human rights and human dignity, and I hope all officials in Qatar will play a positive role after our meetings there,” the patriarch added.

General Security chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, who played a major role in the swap deal that saw the release of the nine pilgrims, has revealed that he would seek to reopen the file of Lebanese held in Syrian regime jails and resolve the case of the two bishops kidnapped in Syria.

In remarks to As Safir newspaper published on Tuesday, Ibrahim said that he had promised Lebanese political and religious officials to seek the release of bishops Ibrahim and Yazigi, who were kidnapped in Syria at the end of April.

The nine Shiite pilgrims, who were kidnapped by rebels in May 2012 while on their way from Iran to Lebanon via Turkey and Syria, were set free late Saturday as part of a deal that also saw the release of two Turkish Airlines pilots, who were abducted in August in Beirut, and dozens of Syrian women detainees.

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