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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Houssam Houssam at the site of Hawi's assassination? |
| 2006-01-01 |
| Astonishing pictures have surfaced of the infamous masked Syrian witness Houssam Houssam taking part in the immediate aftermath of the assassination June 21 of George Hawi, then head of the Communist Party. Houssam, who publicly confessed in November to having lied to the UN probe investigating the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, was shown in the pictures standing close to Hawi's family during a demonstration held on the afternoon of his assassination. Hawi was targeted by a car bomb early on June 21. Houssam, formerly hailed as a "king witness," said he escaped to Syria after the Lebanese security forces monitoring him "became bored of following him." The pictures, published by the Elaph Web site, were discovered by local photographer Wael Ladeki while he was organizing his photo archives. They show that Houssam, a self-confessed member of Syrian intelligence, was monitoring the crowds during the demonstration while standing close to Hawi's sister. Rafi Madoyan, Hawi's step-son, told The Daily Star on Friday that "some members of my family saw Houssam on September 20, in the area near their house with another person carrying weapons." He added that the family didn't know who he was at that time, but "after Houssam was shown on television in November during his news conference, they instantly recognized him." Madoyan also said that "during that day, (before the assassination), Houssam approached one of my family members to make him a pair of glasses." According to him, "it is weird how such a witness would be found at several crime sites and roam freely without his security being covered." He explained: "According to Houssam's fiance, he was at the site in Ain al-Mreisseh where Hariri was assassinated minutes before the explosion happened. And he took part in my father's farewell demonstration hours after his death." Madoyan also told The Daily Star that he will hold a news conference this coming Tuesday in which he will demand the Lebanese Judiciary extradite Houssam to question him. "The Lebanese Judiciary and the security investigations are suffering from confusion and tardiness in probing Hawi's murder," Madoyan added. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 And he took part in my father's farewell demonstration hours after his death why do they always do that? |
| Posted by: 2b 2006-01-01 08:57 |
| #1 In the tradition of this-is-all-a-bad-pulp-movie, I have to ask: is Houssam Houssam really the name of a villain from Barbarella, like Duran Duran? |
| Posted by: Phil 2006-01-01 01:58 |