Gay German-Israeli Denies Being Spy

(Beirut, Lebanon) A investigation into the murder of Lebanese citizen Moussa al-Shalaani has prompted police to arrest Daniel Sharon, a dual citizen of Germany and Israel, on espionage charges. Sharon admits to being homosexual but denies being a spy.

According to Lebanese publication Al-Akhbar Wa-Sapir, Sharon was arrested on Thursday during an investigation into the murder of a Lebanese citizen.

During questioning, it emerged that Sharon had visited Lebanon 11 times on his German passport over the last two years. He denied allegations he was on an espionage mission and said he was in Lebanon for leisure purposes, according to the source.

Sharon is linked to, and spent a lot of time with, a Lebanese security agent who was the roommate of the murdered al-Shalaani. Also, the security agent's gun was used in the killing -- he claims he lost his gun.

Nevertheless, Sharon calmly denies everything.

"He is denying charges of espionage and insists that he is gay and he likes to have sexual relations with Lebanese men and that is why his visits to Lebanon were frequent," the source said.

"But further investigations into the case showed that Sharon had a friend in the Lebanese security offices who used to facilitate his entries to Lebanon and with the help of a hotel clerk he managed to hide his real name," the source added.

Based on the reporting, it appears that Sharon frequently travels in and out of Lebanon while trying to maintain a low profile and is remotely connected to a murder. As a result, Lebanese authorities believe he is a spy, although it's not clear who he would be spying for. Sharon explains that he's really just a homosexual who prefers Lebanese men.

It's hard to analyze what's going on in this case so its importance remains unknown. One thing that is known, however, is that it must be a rarity for a German-Israeli to openly claim homosexuality in the Muslim Middle East as his defense against accusations of espionage.