Lebanese man claims that Ron Arad died in 1988

Lebanese man claims that Ron Arad died in 1988 after being tortured
A Lebanese man who is suspected of aiding the Israeli Mossad testified in a local military court that he met the Israeli navigator in 1988. According to the defendant, Ron Arad died in 1988 after being tortured. He stated that he gave Israel false information in exchange for money.
Feb 20, 2016, 12:30PM
Becca Noy
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Ron Arad Photo Credit: Channel 2 News
A Lebanese newspaper, The Daily Star, announced today (Saturday) that the “mystery of missing Israeli pilot may be solved.” The article contains quotes from the testimony of a Lebanese citizen who is suspected of spying for Israel. The suspect claims that he has solid information regarding Ron Arad. The suspect declared that Arad died in 1988, after being tortured.
The trial was held in a military court in Beirut against 5 Lebanese citizens who are accused of aiding the Israeli Mossad. While testifying, 1 of them claimed that he provided Israel with false information regarding Arad in exchange for money.
“I was a member of the military wing of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party,” testified Moufeed K. “I got a call and was informed that a group of young men had arrested a person.” According to the defendant, the group tried to question him but did not succeed. “He spoke many languages fluently,” said Moufeed. “If you spoke to him in Arabic he would answer in French; if you spoke in French he would reply in Spanish; and if you spoke to him in English he would reply in French.”
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Ron Arad Photo Credit: Channel 2 News
Moufeed explained that he told the men to wash their captive and dress him in clean clothes. When the judge asked Moufeed if the captive was wearing a pilot uniform, he said he did not remember. The group of men took their captive to a nearby town. However, they soon told Moufeed that the captive died.
“They told me that he had entered the bathroom and stayed there for a long time. ... When they went to check on him they found him dead,” he explained. “Of course he passed away due to exhaustion and of course he was subject to beatings and torture as that is how interrogations happen.” Moufeed claims that he realized that the captive was the missing Israeli navigator only after he passed away.
“In 1998 we got a call from our officer telling us that the media was circulating pictures and information about Ron Arad,” he said. “I then went to our base to ask the young men who were involved where they had buried our prisoner.” Then, they went to his grave and extracted his bones in order to verify his identification.
According to Moufeed, he decided to schedule a meeting with then-Lebanese president Emile Lahoud and update him about really happened to Arad. At this point, the judge decided to adjourn the trial’s proceedings. The remainder of the legal process will take place behind closed doors.