BEIRUT // Prosecutors at a UN-backed tribunal have started presenting evidence that may point to Syrian complicity in the assassination of Lebanon’s top Sunni statesman.
The trial chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) decided this month to hear the testimony of more than a dozen political witnesses.
They include politicians, journalists and advisers close to Rafik Hariri who will speak about how relations broke down between the former premier and Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in the months before the assassination.
“Let us not be coy about it: the prosecutor now is putting his case on the basis of Syria being behind the assassination of Rafik Hariri,” defence lawyer Iain Edwards told the court before the judges agreed to include the evidence. “Is Bashar Assad going to be formally named as a co-conspirator in the killing of Rafik Hariri? Rustom Ghazaleh? Are they going to be added to the indictment?” he asked, referring to Syria’s intelligence chief in Lebanon at the time of Hariri’s killing. “We are entitled to know.”
The tribunal is trying in absentia five members of Hizbollah accused of complicity in the 2005 bombing that killed Lebanon’s charismatic billionaire former prime minister.
The fresh focus on Syria comes after the investigation has for years stayed away from the involvement of Damascus in the attack that killed Hariri and 21 others.
Fingers initially pointed to the Assad regime as being the culprit behind the massive explosion that targeted Hariri’s motorcade. While the initial investigation stopped short of directly accusing Syria, it said the regime’s intelligence service had thoroughly infiltrated Lebanon and the plot was so intricate and complex that it could not have been conducted without the knowledge of Syrian and Lebanese officials.
In the intervening years, however, Syria’s role took a backstage as leaks about the investigation started highlighting Hizbollah’s alleged involvement. The indictment, made public in the summer of 2011, accused four Hizbollah operatives of complicity in the attack, and a fifth party supporter was added to the indictment last year.
The suspects included Mustafa Badreddine, a top military commander related to Imad Mughniyeh, Hizbollah’s military chief who was assassinated in Damascus in 2008.
Prosecutors relied on a massive tranche of telecommunications data to indict the suspects. The data allegedly shows how they tracked Hariri until his death, the purchase of a Mitsubishi van that contained the bomb, and the preparation of a false claim of responsibility for the attack.
But prosecutors never gave a motive for why five members of Hizbollah would want to kill Hariri. His Future Movement and Hizbollah were planning to run in joint parliamentary lists in some districts during elections slated for mid-2005. Hariri also enjoyed close relations with Hizbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah at the time.
But prosecutors are now saying that the political motive for the crime will be revealed in the testimony of the political witnesses, who will describe the breakdown in relations between Hariri and Mr Al Assad and the subsequent creation of an opposition movement aimed at rolling back Syria’s influence in Lebanon.
Marwan Hamade, a Lebanese MP and former minister close to Hariri, was the first political witness to testify in court last week. His testimony centred around two crucial meetings between Hariri and Mr Al Assad during which the Syrian leader ordered Lebanon’s premier to back the reelection of Emile Lahoud, a pro-Syria general to the Lebanese presidency.
Mr Hamade told judges that Mr Al Assad had threatened to “break” Lebanon over Hariri’s head, and that Druze leader Walid Jumblatt had advised the prime minister to resign and leave Lebanon for his personal safety.
Mr Jumblatt himself may testify before the court, and has indicated his willingness to do so. Hariri’s successor, former prime minister Fouad Siniora, will also testify.
Testimony by the witnesses is expected to continue next week.
But it remains unclear how prosecutors plan to link the estrangement of Mr Al Assad and Hariri to the actions of the men suspected of carrying out the bombing. Their whereabouts is unknown and Hizbollah has vowed not to hand them over.
Prosecutors argued that the conspiracy took place in tandem with political developments. The plot allegedly began a month after an August 2004 meeting between Mr Al Assad and Hariri, and after the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1559 ordering the departure of all foreign forces from Lebanon and the disarmament of all militias. This was seen as a threat to Syria’s military presence in the country and the weapons of its ally, Hizbollah.
They also said the plot rapidly gained pace after a meeting between Hariri and Syria’s chief of military intelligence in Lebanon, Rustom Ghazaleh, in January 2005.
Defence lawyers revealed in a hearing this month that prosecutors were seeking to include a telephone number belonging to Mr Al Assad in court documents, and they were also seeking to link a telephone network used by the alleged commanders of the assassination plot to Hizbollah.
Prosecutors have not indicted any Syrian officials so far, nor have they explicitly said they plan to do so. Still, defence lawyers have called on prosecutors to lay out their theory of Syrian complicity in an amended indictment, and to explicitly say if they plan on formally accusing Syrian officials in the case.
“This ghost of the Syrians is coming out of the cupboard,” said Philippe Larochelle, a lawyer for one of the suspects in the case, at a hearing earlier this month.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
Company%20profile
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Jawan
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FOLD5
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDirect%20Debit%20System%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sept%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20with%20a%20subsidiary%20in%20the%20UK%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elaine%20Jones%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%208%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Bahrain%20GP
%3Cp%3EFriday%20qualifying%3A%207pm%20(8pm%20UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESaturday%20race%3A%207pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETV%3A%20BeIN%20Sports%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.