Beirut OKs international Hariri tribunal

NF Reporter · 11-25-2006, 02:10 PM

AP - Lebanon's U.S.-backed government on Saturday approved the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, overriding objections by Hezbollah and the country's pro-Syrian president.

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waltky · 03-28-2008, 08:06 PM

UN's Hariri report...

UN says 'network' killed Hariri
Friday, 28 March 2008, A UN inquiry says a "network of individuals" was behind the 2005 killing of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri.

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A UN commission investigating the death of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri says the evidence suggests a network of people was responsible for the attack. No individuals were named, but the investigators said what it called the "Hariri Network" might also be behind other deadly attacks in Lebanon. The ex-PM and 22 others died in a huge car bombing in Beirut in February 2005.

Past UN inquiries suggested that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence forces had played a role - which Syria denied. The commission said the evidence indicated that the network existed before his assassination and carried out surveillance of the former prime minister. "This implies more clearly the direction of the inquiry... The iceberg is slowly melting" - Marwan Hmadeh, Communications Minister

It said at least part of the network continued to operate after Mr Hariri's killing. Lebanon has been in crisis and without a president for months, amid a drawn-out power struggle between the pro- and anti-Syrian factions.

Progress BBC NEWS | Middle East | UN says 'network' killed Hariri

waltky · 07-01-2011, 08:06 PM

Hezbollah did it...

Four Hezbollah members named in Hariri murder
Sat, Jul 02, 2011 - Lebanon yesterday braced for a possible backlash after a UN-backed tribunal issued an indictment in the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in which four Hezbollah members were named.

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Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel confirmed the names of the men charged by the Netherlands-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and said efforts would begin to arrest them. He said Lebanese Prosecutor General Said Mirza had given him the arrest warrants early yesterday for Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra and Hussein Anaissi. Their whereabouts are unknown. Badreddine is the brother-in-law of top Hezbollah operative Imad Mughniyeh, who died in a 2008 bombing in Damascus.

He is suspected of having masterminded the Feb. 14, 2005 seaside bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others. Ayyash, another senior party official who holds US citizenship, allegedly carried out the attack. Sabra and Anaissi allegedly coordinated with Ahmad Abu Adas, a Palestinian who contacted al-Jazeera television following the Hariri assassination to claim responsibility for the bombing.

Charbel said a meeting among all concerned security services was planned for today to coordinate search operations for the suspects. “We have to address this issue calmly and wisely to preserve the civil peace,” he said. “If the situation explodes, everyone loses.” He added that there were between 15,000 and 20,000 outstanding arrest warrants in Lebanon.

Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Shiite militant party, is set to make a televised address today that will mark his first reaction to the indictment that has triggered fears of sectarian unrest in the volatile country. Hezbollah, blacklisted as a terrorist organization by Washington, has repeatedly warned that it would not sit idle should any of its militants be accused of Hariri’s assassination.

More Four Hezbollah members named in Hariri murder - Taipei Times