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| Arabia |
| UAE will not extradite discredited Hariri witness |
| 2009-11-28 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] The United Arab Emirates (UAE) says it will not extradite a former Syrian spy accused of misleading a UN probe into the murder of late Lebanese premier Rafiq al-Hariri. "There is no case for extraditing Mohammed Zuheir al-Siddiq as he is not wanted by the court in Syria," Gulf News quoted an official source as saying. Siddiq was initially considered as a leading witness in the UN inquiry into the 2005 assassination of the Lebanese leader, but was later discredited and charged with perjury. In October, a state security court in Abu Dhabi sentenced him to six months in prison and called for deportation upon release for entering the country on a forged Czech passport. At the time his defense attorney, Fahd al-Sabhan, said that Siddiq would be credited with time served but was not sure whether or not he would be deported. However, the official source on Friday said Siddiq remains in prison pending the decision on his possible deportation, AFP reported. Siddiq, a one-time member of Syria's intelligence services, had accused Lebanon's former president Emile Lahoud and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of ordering Hariri's assassination -- a claim he later withdrew. Lebanese and Syrian judicial authorities accused the former agent of obstructing the truth. Subsequently, the prosecutor at the UN Hariri tribunal disqualified Siddiq in May, saying he was no longer a credible witness and was of no interest to the inquiry. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 ION BHARAT RAKSHAK > DUBAI DEFAULT COULD HIT AIRBUS, BOEING; + BoA-MERRILL LYCH SAYS:UAE DEBT COULD REACH US$184.BILYUHN??? |
| Posted by: Josephmendiola 2009-11-28 01:17 |