Army Hands Over al-Majed's Body to Saudi Embassy
The corpse of Abdullah Azzam Brigades chief Majed al-Majed was handed over on Friday afternoon to the Saudi Embassy in Beirut, ahead of its repatriation to the kingdom.
“At 3:20 p.m., and following the authorization of the relevant judicial authority, the army's Medical Services handed over Majed al-Majed's body to a delegation from the Saudi embassy in Lebanon at the entrance of the Central Military Hospital,” a Lebanese army statement said.
The army noted that the step happened “after the completion of the necessary medical and legal measures.”
Later on Friday, state-run National News Agency said al-Majed's body arrived at the Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport amid “very strict security measures.”
The corpse was expected to be flown to Riyadh at 7:00 p.m. aboard a Saudi Airlines plane, NNA said.
“As part of the security measures, photojournalists and reporters were not allowed to be present near the body and the coffin was immediately transported to the plane,” the agency added.
Earlier on Friday, acting General Prosecutor Judge Samir Hammoud had agreed to hand over al-Majed's corpse to the Saudi Embassy in Beirut, according to NNA.
The corpse will be buried in Saudi Arabia at the request of al-Majed's family.
Hammoud announced on Thursday that the report of the forensic panel confirmed that Majed had died of illness.
"The panel's report confirmed the first conclusion reached by the forensic doctor,” he said.
The acting general prosecutor had received on Tuesday a request from the Saudi embassy, saying the brother of the al-Qaida-linked group leader wanted to repatriate his body.
Al-Majed, a Saudi national, died in Lebanon on Saturday while undergoing treatment at the Central Military Hospital after his health deteriorated, the army said in a communique.
He is accused of being behind the suicide bombing that targeted the Iranian embassy in Beirut on November 19, 2013, and he was detained in December of the same year and had been held at a secret location.
He was also wanted by Saudi Arabia on terrorism charges.
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