NZ man sentenced to hard labour

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) says it is in contact with a Jordanian New Zealander sentenced to two years' hard labour by Lebanon's Military Tribunal but can say little more.

The Daily Star, an English language newspaper in Beirut, said yesterday seven men were accused of forming an armed group with the aim of conducting terrorist acts in Lebanon, weapons trafficking and falsifying official documents.

They included a Jordanian New Zealander named Khaled Ziyad Shammout, a Jordanian Australian named Imad Farouk Bsiso and two Palestinians, Mohammad Samir al-Salem and Haytham Mohammad Ghotani.

MFAT said today it was aware of Mr Shamout's case and consular advice and assistance has been extended to him.

"He has also been regularly visited in prison on our behalf by British and Australian consular officials as New Zealand has no embassy in Lebanon," a spokeswoman said.

Mr Shamout had legal representation but for privacy reasons MFAT was unable to release any further details at this stage, she said.

Otago University's Professor Bill Harris, an expert on the Middle East, said the Military Tribunal was part of the Lebanese judiciary and such sentences were quite frequent.

The hard labour sentence could vary in severity but he did not believe it was unduly harsh.

Another newspaper reported the group were connected with al Qaeda, but Prof Harris said that was a label often applied.

"What on Earth al Qaeda means in these circumstances in Lebanon is difficult to work out who they belong to and why they were arrested."

- NZPA