Canadian missionary freed in Lebanon

Canadian missionary freed in Lebanon

LEBANON — A Canadian missionary jailed in Lebanon July 10 was acquitted of spying for Israel Sept. 1. A Lebanese military court found Bruce Balfour, 52, a Christian missionary from Calgary, not guilty of collaborating with Israel, a charge punishable by 15 years in jail. Judicial sources said he was accused of working with the Jewish state to spy on Lebanon’s army and its Shiite Hezbollah militia. Five judges found Balfour innocent of espionage but guilty of causing “religious strife,” sources said, sentencing him to a year in prison but reducing the penalty to time served. Balfour was scheduled to return home Sept. 2.