UAE frees nine Lebanese arrested over alleged Hezbollah ties

Nine Lebanese people arrested in the UAE over alleged ties to the militant group Hezbollah have reportedly been released.

French-language newspaper L'Orient-Le Jour said the detainees had been determined innocent and let go, citing a diplomatic source in Beirut's foreign ministry.

Aboul-Fadl Chouman, a spokesperson for the relatives of the Lebanese detained in the Gulf state, said the nine were freed last week and this week, with the latest release having taken place on Thursday.

Authorities arrested them two months ago in Dubai.

"It's unfair to detain people for weeks only to find out, in the end, that they were innocent," Chouman said.

He said they remain in the UAE and are to be deported to Lebanon.

Those released were formerly alleged to have "laundered money for the benefit of Hezbollah and Iran" and "made contact with the Shia party", according to Chouman.

Lebanon's foreign ministry could not verify this.

"We haven't been notified of the charges," said the ministry source mentioned earlier.

Four more Lebanese sentenced to life remain detained in the UAE, as do two others with 15-year sentences, L'Orient-Le Jour cited information from Chouman as indicating.

It comes after another Lebanese man held in the UAE died earlier in May, The New Arab previously reported.

The Euro-Med Monitor human rights group urged an "immediate and transparent investigation" and said it had "obtained a statement" suggesting torture was a potential cause of death, though could not independently verify this.

"There is absolutely a need for transparency from the UAE on this case. If they have nothing to hide, they should allow the family to take the remains back to Lebanon," said Amnesty International UAE researcher Sima Watling.