The General Directorate of Internal Security Forces – Public Relations Division issued the following communiqué:
On the evening of 20/2/2023, following the kidnapping of Sheikh Ahmed Al-Rifai in the city of Tripoli, by unknown persons, and taking him with his car to an unknown destination, and in light of the conditions the country is going through in terms of crises and tensions, this act had a significant negative impact that caused panic among citizens, especially after If social media began to spread the news in a sectarian and incitement framework and point accusations at political parties and security agencies, this increased the general tension in the country.
As a result, directions were given to the Information Division of the Internal Security Forces to carry out immediate investigations with the aim of clarifying the circumstances of the accident and arresting the perpetrators.
As a result of the field and technical follow-up, the Information Division was able, during the past 48 hours, to find the kidnapped person’s car, confiscate one of the cars used in the kidnapping, identify the kidnappers, and arrest four people, three of whom were relatives of the kidnapped person, as two of his relatives confessed to carrying out the kidnapping due to the existence of old disputes. Between the two parties in association with others, after that they killed the kidnapped man and threw him in one of the northern regions.
Currently, work is underway to locate the body of the kidnapped person and to complete investigations with the rest of the detainees, in coordination with the competent judicial authorities, in order to fully reveal the circumstances of the incident.
This General Directorate denies what is reported about the involvement of an element of the strike force in the Information Division in this case.
