Sheikh Hassan Msheymish, a Lebanese Shiite cleric known as a critic of Hizbullah, was arrested in July in Syria on suspicion of spying for Israel, a high-ranking Lebanese security official told Agence France Presse on Thursday. The official told AFP that the arrest was prompted by information Lebanese police intelligence had sent to Syrian authorities indicating that Msheymish was implicated in collaborating with Israel.

The official said that Msheymish was still being interrogated by Syrian authorities as preliminary information gathered by Lebanese intelligence indicated he may have been spying on targets in Syria. One of the sheikh’s sons told AFP in July that Msheymish had been detained while on his way to the Saudi city of Mecca on a religious pilgrimage.