BEIRUT: ISF commander Maj. Gen. Ashraf Rifi’s remarks during a parliamentary committee meeting on a string of abductions unleashed a flurry of reactions from political leaders and calls for further investigation Wednesday.

During a meeting of the parliamentary human rights committee Monday, Rifi disclosed critical information on several kidnappings that took place over the past two years, according to participants.

Among the victims is Joseph Sader, a Middle East Airlines manager who was abducted by unknown individuals two years ago on his way to Rafik Hariri International Airport. During the session, Rifi said the IT manager was taken to Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Rifi added that the ISF could not retrieve Sader or arrest his captors because the ISF could not carry out any search and rescue operation in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a statement that drew harsh criticisms from Hezbollah MPs.

The session, which took place in the presence of the kidnapped individuals’ families, turned into a heated debate that pitted politicians from the March 8 camp against Rifi and Metn MP Sami Gemayel.

In response to Rifi’s comments, they said, Baalbek-Hermel MP Nawwar Sahli denied that the ISF had no access to the capital’s southern suburbs, saying the area was open to anyone.

The Hezbollah bloc MP also asked Rifi whether he was expressing his personal opinion or speaking on behalf of the Interior Ministry.

Rifi briefed the MPs on information on two other high-profile kidnappings that he said had been carried out by the personnel from the Syrian Embassy in Beirut, according to the participants.

Three Syrian brothers from the Jasem family disappeared in February, after two of them went to pick up their brother Jasem Merii Jasem from a police station east of Beirut.

Rifi said a vehicle belonging to the Syrian Embassy in Beirut had been used to kidnap the three Jasem brothers.

In May, Shibli Aisamy, an 86-year-old Syrian dissident, was also abducted in the town of Aley, minutes after leaving his daughter’s home for a walk.

Politicians and members of Aisamy’s family have urged the authorities to investigate the case and identify his kidnappers. Aisamy is a former member of Syria’s Baath Party.

During the session, Rifi expressed his belief that Aisamy, like the three Jasem brothers, had been kidnapped by members of the ISF who work at the Syrian Embassy, according to a meeting participant.

In a statement released following its weekly meeting Wednesday, the March 14 Secretariat General urged the authorities to investigate the kidnappings of Syrian opposition figures in Lebanon.

For his part, Gemayel said the information disclosed during the parliamentary session was “dangerous” and that it was unacceptable to leave criminals and captors free to do as they like in the country.

“The information provided by Gen. Ashraf Rifi [Monday] is very dangerous and the state prosecutor has to make a move to arrest the perpetrators of kidnappings immediately,” Gemayel told the Daily Star Wednesday.

“We ask State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza to attend the next meeting of the parliamentary human rights committee and have his say in the matter … because there are people that should be arrested by now,” said Gemayel.

Baabda MP Hikmat Deeb agreed with Gemayel and said Mirza should attend the upcoming meeting of the parliamentary committee. “Mirza should attend the meeting and tell the MPs what is causing the delay in the investigation into the kidnappings,” Deeb told The Daily Star.

But Deeb rejected Rifi’s comments that 57-year-old Sader had been taken to Beirut’s southern suburbs, adding that it was inappropriate to single out certain areas of the country in making such accusations. “The committee at Parliament agreed to invite Mirza for the next session to look into the reasons the Military Tribunal has failed to uncover the perpetrators,” Deeb added.

Separately, Deeb submitted Wednesday a proposal to Parliament to establish an “Independent National Committee for the Kidnapped,” to investigate the cases of 17,000 missing people since 1975.