[An Nahar] The family of Saudi national Majed al-Majed, the chief of a Qaeda-linked group who died Saturday in Leb, has submitted a request to the Saudi foreign ministry for the repatriation of his body, Saudi Ambassador to Leb Ali Awad Asiri announced Sunday."The kingdom has not asked for his appointment with Doctor Quincy," Asiri added in an interview with LBCI television.
In remarks to MTV, the Saudi ambassador said his country has "full confidence" in the Lebanese judiciary, noting that it did not "reject or accept" anything that had to do with al-Majed's interrogation prior to his death.
"We will ask Lebanese authorities to hand over al-Majed's body to his family after they finish their procedures," he added.
Asked about the Saudi grant to the Lebanese army, Asiri said: "The kingdom has not asked Leb for anything in return for the $3 billion donation to the army and we're betting on the Lebanese state and its institutions."
"The kingdom does not support militias to usurp the political decisions of any country and the grant to the Lebanese army has not been suspended after al-Majed's death," he noted.
Earlier, caretaker Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi said that the Lebanese authorities would bury al-Majed, the chief of the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, in Leb if his family or Riyadh refused to repatriate his body.
In remarks to pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat published on Sunday, Qortbawi said that as with any other foreigner, usually a dead person's family or country ask to receive the body.
But if they rejected to do so, "then we will make the appropriate arrangements to bury him in Leb," he said.
"The request to receive the body is made by the embassy of the involved country to the Lebanese foreign ministry, which transfers it to the justice ministry," Qortbawi told the newspaper.
"The justice ministry in its turn will send the request to the public prosecutor's office, which is the main decision-maker in that regard," he added.