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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Tribunal to Focus on Damascus as Mehlis Says Arrest of Generals Not Only Based on Siddiq Testimony |
| 2009-05-09 |
| The Special Tribunal for Lebanon will turn its eye on Damascus following the release of the four generals, European sources said, as former chief U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis said his recommendation to arrest the former security chiefs was based on the testimony of king witness Zuhair Siddiq as well as others. Mehlis said the U.N. commission investigating ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's murder had recommended the arrest of the four generals and it would have retracted its order had it been mistaken. Mehlis told al-Mustaqbal daily that when he quit as head of the commission, the provisional arrest of the generals was legal under Lebanese, German and French law. He stressed that at that time he thought the probe would need only one more year. He told al-Mustaqbal that he would have sent the file to the court if he had enough evidence and if not, he would have announced that finding the truth is impossible. "Had the investigation been on the right track, it would have been over long time ago," the former head of the U.N. panel said. He told the newspaper that his recommendation to arrest the four generals wasn't only based on the testimony of witness Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq. Mehlis said he recommended the arrests after hearing the testimonies of several witnesses including Gen. H. and another person to whom one of the released officers, Gen. Mustafa Hamdan, had said there is an intention to send Hariri on a "trip." Mehlis said that the commission had asked Syria for information on a possible Israeli involvement in Hariri's assassination but Damascus did not cooperate on the matter. The panel, according to Mehlis, also ruled out the involvement of fundamentalists in the former premier's murder. Sources involved in the investigation into Hariri's assassination informed official Western and European parties that the court will continue its work because the commission investigating the former premier's killing has enough evidence and information to find the truth. The sources stressed that the tribunal's judges are committed to the Lebanese and the international community to hold accountable and punish the culprits. An Nahar quoted the Western and European officials as saying the release of the generals will support international efforts to push Syrian President Bashar Assad to cooperate with the tribunal and comply with its demands, including the interrogation of Syrian witnesses or accused persons when needed. Well-informed diplomatic sources in Paris said "the next strike by the court after the release of the generals will be in Damascus because the Hariri case is of significance to Syria more than any other country outside Lebanon." Meanwhile, Lebanese authorities informed pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen that they are implementing his decision to protect the generals, including taking security measures and putting guards to protect them and their property. |
| Posted by:Fred |