Prosecution orders release of 30 demonstrators detainees

Prosecutor-General Adnan Addoum has ordered the release of 30 people, mostly Lebanese students, who were arrested Sunday during a demonstration protesting the government's decision to ban a television interview with exiled General Michel Aoun.

Addoum also received files on the remaining detainees which he was studying to decide on their fate. At least 63 people were arrested Sunday near the offices of Murr TV station after some 100 Aoun supporters gathered to protest the ban, scheduled for Sunday evening.

Meanwhile, some 5,500 Lebanese lawyers from the Lawyers' Union announced a three-day strike to protest the arrests. Several lawyers were among those arrested, including the son of former head of the union, Shakib Cortbawi.

"What's my son's crime? That he was asking for freedom?" asked Cortbawi. Students at several universities also staged sit-ins, carrying banners that called for freedom and heaping criticism on the government. Security forces were on alert to make sure there would be no disturbances.