Lebanon authorities hunt for Kuwaiti jail-breaker

The Lebanese government is intensifying efforts to capture a Kuwaiti inmate convicted of terror charges and is also one of the five inmates who escaped from the Roumieh prison recently, confirmed a top member of the government. In statements made exclusively to Kuwait's Al-Rai Daily, Lebanon's Minister of Interior Marwan Charbel said that Prime Minister Najib Mikati gave orders to pursue Kuwaiti fugitive Mohammad Al-Dousary who is believed to still be in Lebanon along with the other escapees. According to Charbel, the Lebanese authorities are currently coordinating with officials at Palestinian refugee camps where the inmates are expected to have taken refuge. He ruled out the probability that the inmates could have escaped to Syria, given the heavy military presence along the Lebanese - Syrian border due to the ongoing conditions in that region. Investigations are yet to confirm whether the escape was coordinated with external sources. According to sources in Lebanon, one of the five jail breakers was already apprehended at the Badawy refugee camp, and he claimed during interrogation that the remaining four went their own way. Sources also said that the investigators are treating this information lightly. Mohammad Al-Dousary, also known as Abu Talha, was arrested in Beirut in 2009 and sentenced to three years for holding a forged passport. He was later given a life sentence after he was found guilty of involvement in forming a militant group linked to Al-Qaeda, and plotting to carry out terrorist attacks in Lebanon and Syria.