[1] Samaha is known for his long and close relationship with the Syrian government,[2] and was one of several Lebanese officials sanctioned by the United States in 2007 for allegedly "contributing to political and economic instability in Lebanon.
[3][4][5] Arrested and imprisoned in August, 2012,[6] Samaha was convicted in May 2015 of transporting explosives into Lebanon with the help of Jamil El-Sayyed, a member of the Lebanese parliament, and sentenced to four and a half years in jail.
[13] He agreed to support the 1985 tripartite agreement between the LF represented by Hobeika, Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement, and Walid Jumblatt’s Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) on the eve of its signing.
[14] Samaha was arrested on 9 August 2012 for his alleged involvement in transporting explosives into Lebanon, with the help of the Syrian Security Chief Ali Mamlouk, to carry out terrorist attacks in order to incite sectarian strife and destabilize the country.
[23][24][25] Samaha allegedly confessed on 10 August to the Internal Security Forces Information Branch that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad wanted bomb attacks in Lebanon.
[26] Najib Mikati, the Lebanese Prime Minister, stated in September 2012 that Samaha admitted his involvement of plotting terror attacks in Lebanon.
[27] According to leaked interrogation transcripts, Samaha allegedly suggested that the planned bombings were meant to target Lebanese Christian leaders in order to raise sectarian tensions.
[28] The intelligence branch of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF), headed by Wissam al-Hassan who was assassinated on 19 October 2012, played a central role in Samaha's arrest.