 Lebanese police have arrested an Islamist who was being investigated by a UN commission probing the assassination of former prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, security officials said. Mahmud Abd al-Al, a member of the pro-Syrian Al-Ahbash Sunni Muslim Orthodox group, was detained in Beirut early on Saturday upon orders from Lebanese Magistrate Elias Eid.
His arrest was the first since chief UN investigator Detlev Mehlis released his findings into the investigation of al-Hariri's 14 February slaying in a Beirut car bombing that killed at least 20 others. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Eid based his decision to detain Abd al-Al upon a recommendation from chief UN investigators. Mehlis's report alleged that Abd al-Al called pro-Syrian Lebanese President Emile Lahoud on his mobile telephone minutes before the blast that killed al-Hariri.
| In a reasonable world, that'd mean Emil was going down. We'll see how much sweet reason applies in Leb. So far there hasn't been a lot... |
Lahoud denied receiving such a call.
| "Nope. Nope. Never happened. Wudn't me." |
The UN inquiry claimed that shortly after, Abd al-Al also contacted one of four Lebanese pro-Syrian generals who have since been arrested in the probe. Police also seized unspecified documents during the raid on Abd al-Al's home, the officials said without elaborating. Abd al-Al's brother is a prominent figure in the Al-Ahbash group, Ahmad Abd al-Al, whom Mehlis identified as a "key figure" in the ongoing investigation. Ahmad Abd al-Al had extensive contacts with top Lebanese security officials before and after the blast, and tried to hide information from investigators, according to the UN report. He was recently arrested in Beirut in connection with a weapons depot discovered in southern Lebanon in July. |