No, the title is not a reference to Nasrallah fans.
Lebanon’s Daily Star reports:
‘Devil worship’ suspects arrested in Mount Lebanon
And no, this as nothing to do with Lebanese who are fans of the US or Israel (Big Satan and Little Satan respectively).
Eight people, including a Lebanese Army soldier, were arrested Friday on suspicion of blasphemy and drug possession in Mount Lebanon and handed over to the military prosecutor’s office.
A judicial source told The Daily Star that the detainees are believed to be “devil worshippers”. The suspects – five of whom are male and three female, all under the age of 25 – were also found to be self-harming.
Military Judge Saqr Saqr will charge the eight on Saturday, according to the source.
So-called devil worship can be prosecuted under the section of the penal code which outlaws blasphemy and immoral conduct.
In 2003, more than 50 people, mainly teenagers, were arrested on suspicion of devil worship and drug abuse. A handful were convicted.
The government said at the time it had adopted measures to confront what it described as the rise of the phenomenon, with the arrests following weeks of monitoring by Internal Security Forces.
Having said that, it is only a matter of time before the Lebanese accuse Israel of supplying the Zionist Death DrugsTM or Zionist Razor Blades of DeathTM involved (hat tip: Blazing Cat Fur).
Update: This is not the first time devil worshippers have been arrested in Lebanon. From 2003 (with bonus reference to both Big and Little Satan):
A young man playing guitar near a cemetery in Beirut was arrested and referred to court Wednesday on suspicion of being a follower of “devil worshippers.”
Lebanese general prosecutor Judge Adnan Addoum referred the man, who was not identified, to the General Prosecution for further investigation.
The suspect was arrested while he was taking drugs and playing guitar near a cemetery. Police forces also found with him masks, symbols and documents that allegedly encouraged worshipping Satan.
His arrest came after a series of rumors that swept the country recently about the killings of some children by devil followers.
Addoum denied the incidents and blamed them on “rumors being spread” in a dramatic way to create chaos and sabotage the Lebanese society. He said the government was adopting measures to confront such a “devil worshipping phenomenon.”
Several people, including teenagers, have been rounded up in the past few days in various regions, but they were later freed after their families promised to watch them. They were accused of taking part in “devil worship” practices and of taking drugs.
Suspicious tapes, twisted crosses, bones and skulls were also seized.
Similar arrests of suspected devil worshippers have taken place in Morocco, where a court sentenced 14 people Thursday for participating in such rituals as listening to hard-rock music that purportedly glorified Satan. Human rights groups protested the sentences, which ranged from a month to a year, as violations of humanitarian law.
The same Beirut judge on Wednesday referred a Lebanese journalist for interrogation by the General Prosecution for writing an article deemed harmful to religion.
Akel Aweet, a writer with Lebanon’s leading An Nahar newspaper, wrote a front-page article published Tuesday titled “Letter to God” in which he defied God to prove he exists by stopping the United States and Israel from pursuing their “evil” plans against Iraq, the Palestinians and other parts of the world.
