Lebanese man receives 6-year jail sentence on militant charges

 A 26-year-old Lebanese man was sentenced to jail for six years by a Cypriot court after pleading guilty to eight terrorism charges.

Hussein Bassam Abdallah, a holder of Canadian passport, admitted being in possession of 8.2 tons of ammonium nitrate, a potentially explosive substance, which would be used in bomb attacks against Israeli interests.

He pleaded guilty to charges of being part of a plan to commit crimes, participating in and supporting a terrorist organization and of laundering 9,400 euros (10,535 U.S. dollars) which was the product of illegal activities.

He appeared at an open court hearing for the first time since he was arrested on May 27, after the ammonium nitrate, which can be used in making explosive devices, was found in a house he was residing following his arrival in Cyprus.

A three-member Assize Court, the most senior court empowered to judge criminal cases in Cyprus, heard a recount of the activities of the man.

A woman prosecutor said that he acted on behalf of Hezbollah, being an active member of its military wing and had come to Cyprus 11 times to oversee the illegal transfer of the ammonium nitrate between 2011 and 2015.

The prosecution said the man admitted joining Hezbollah sometime between 2010 and 2011, having been trained in the use of Russian made AK47 assault rifles.

He said he had come to Cyprus to seek appropriate storage facilities to move the ammonium nitrate from the house.

He also said that the ammonium nitrate would be used in attacks aimed at causing damage to Israeli interests in Cyprus.

His lawyer asked the court to show leniency, saying he had been taken advantage by Hezbollah.

He said Abdallah comes from a well-to-do family, he is the father of a one-year old child and works at the family business in Lebanon.

He also said that information Abdallah gave to the authorities helped identify terrorist activities, having also apologized to Cypriot authorities for the harm caused to the country.

The mother of the accused, the only member of his family to be present at the trial, sat in silence in a corner, making prayer signs with her head and hands at times.

Cypriot authorities have issued an international warrant for the arrest of the owner of the house the man was staying in at Larnaca. The man sought after is a Lebanese traveling on a French passport, who bought the house in which the explosives were found.

Abdallah is the second Lebanese to be sentenced in Cyprus for planning terrorist actions on behalf of Hezbollah. In 2013, Hossam Taleb Yaacoub, a holder of Lebanese and Swedish passports, acknowledged membership in Hezbollah and admitted to having staked out areas frequented by Israeli tourists.

But he claimed he did not know his work was part of a plot to kill Israelis.