A
peaceful demonstration at the Justice Palace Thursday
turned into a bloody clash in which more than 30 people
were injured. Some 150 plainclothesmen, set to be Syrian
Intelligence operatives, infiltrated the crowd and started
beating up demonstrators.
"It
was incredible. Those men were beating us up and the
army and police stood watching. They could not do
anything to stop them," 29-year-old Rita told
Naharnet. She withheld her last name for security
considerations.
"I
fell on the ground and a man started to beat me up,
trample on me and kick me on the arms, the legs and
the bottom," she added.
"More
than 30 people were beaten up. They also broke the
camera of an MTV cameraman."
Witnesses
said that at around 12.30, unknown men, dressed in
black shirts, jeans and military boots started to
infiltrate the crowd and start individual disputes.
"They
started beating us up. When the army and the police
tried to stop them, they were also beaten," said
23-year-old Roy who also withheld his last name for
security reasons.
Rita
said the army then told demonstrators to gather and
not leave the place so that they can provide them
with cover to escape the black-shirted men.
"They
let us go by groups of 50," said a young man,
who was among demonstrators.
More
than 30 people were injured and a few of them were
rushed to nearby hospitals by Red Cross ambulances
which were initially denied access to the Justice
Palace.
By
2:00 p.m., all the demonstrators had left the place
under the coverage of the army and police.
Parents
of the detainees, a large number of lawyers, Lebanese
Forces militants and members of the Free Patriotic
Movement had rallied at around 11 a.m. at the Justice
Palace to stage a demonstration demanding the release
of those in detention.
A
number of MPs and party leaders attended the rally
including MPs Pierre Gemayel and Neemtallah Abi Nasr
and head of the Solidarity Party Emile Rahme.
Related: www.justicesearch.com
has a list of the syrian spys who participated in
this
