NICOSIA, Cyprus, March 21 (UPI) -- A man with dual Swedish-Lebanese citizenship was convicted Thursday in Cyprus of functioning as a courier for Hezbollah.
A three-judge panel found Hossam Taleb Yaacoub guilty of five counts, including participating in a criminal organization, The New York Times reported. Sentencing was postponed.
"It has been proven that Hezbollah is an organization that operates under complete secrecy. There is no doubt that this group has multiple members and proceeds with various activities including military training of its members," the chief judge, Tasia Psara-Miltiadou, said. "Therefore the court rules that Hezbollah acts as a criminal organization."
Yaacoub admitted he was a courier for Hezbollah, a Lebanese group classified as a terrorist organization by the United States. He said he did not know why he had been asked to track Israeli citizens in Cyprus.
Yaacoub was arrested last year in Limassol. He told police he was in Cyprus on business but later admitted working for Hezbollah.
