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- 3 sept 2010
Hezbollah won't cooperate with Hariri tribunal
Hezbollah's leader says he will not respond to a UN-appointed prosecutor's demand for the Islamic militant group to hand over all information relevant to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Sheik Hassan Nasrallah says he does not recognize the legitimacy of the UN tribunal investigating the 2005 killing and would cooperate with the Lebanese judiciary instead.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3949064,00.html
Dubai police chief calls BlackBerry a spy tool
Worries about spying by the US and Israel spurred plans to sharply limit BlackBerry services in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai's police chief said in comments that suggest a tough line in talks with the smart phone maker.
The UAE says it will block BlackBerry e-mail, messaging and Web services October 11 unless authorities can gain access to the encrypted data traffic - a demand by other countries warning of possible bans including India.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3949016,00.html 3 jul 2011, 10:17 , Respect -
Maria 10 dec 2011, 22:55 , Respect -
Maria 6 sept 2010
Hariri retracts accusations against Syria in ex-premier's death
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in comments published Monday that it was "a mistake" to accuse Syria of involvement in the 2005 murder of his father, former premier Rafiq Hariri, saying his statements at the time were politically motivated.
AFP - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in comments published on Monday that he erred in accusing Syria of the murder of his father, ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, in a 2005 bombing in Beirut.
"At some point, we made a mistake," Hariri told the Saudi-owned daily Asharq Al-Awsat. "At one stage, we accused Syria of assassinating the martyred premier.
"That was a political accusation, and that political accusation is over," Hariri told the London-based newspaper.
"There is a (UN) court that is doing its job, and we for our part must reassess what happened," he said.
LEBANON
Dangerous truths: Avoiding the ghosts of the past
"The tribunal is completely independent of our political accusations, which were made prematurely," Hariri added. "The tribunal only takes into consideration evidence."
Rafiq Hariri was killed in a massive bombing in the Lebanese capital on February 14, 2005, that also claimed another 22 lives, at a time when Syria retained a tight grip over its smaller neighbour.
Saad Hariri and his allies pinned the blame on Damascus, which was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon that April, ending a presence of nearly three decades.
Damascus has consistently denied any involvement in the assassination.
Since taking office as prime minister last year, the Western- and Saudi-backed Hariri has made five visits to the Syrian capital.
During a visit in July, he signed 17 cooperation agreements and called for closer ties. He also visited President Bashar al-Assad in August.
The United Nations set up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2007 to find and try those behind the Hariri assassination.
Preliminary reports by a committee of The Hague-based tribunal concluded there was evidence implicating Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services in Hariri's murder but there are no suspects currently in custody.
Tensions over the tribunal's pending indictment have risen sharply in Lebanon in recent months as the Syrian- and Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement, which sits in the national unity government led by Hariri, has reacted angrily to rumours that it may be implicated in the tribunal's pending indictment.
http://bit.ly/d1Pxnj
Hariri comes clean on Syria accusations
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri acknowledges that he made a mistake to accuse Syria of the murder of his father in a 2005 bombing in Beirut.
"At some point, we made a mistake," AFP quoted Hariri as telling the Saudi-owned daily Asharq al-Awsat on Monday.
"At one stage, we accused Syria of assassinating the martyred premier...that was a political accusation, and that political accusation is over," he told the London-based paper.
"There is a (UN) court that is doing its job, and we for our part must reassess what happened," he went on to say.
Former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri was killed, along with more than 20 others, in a massive bombing in the Lebanese capital on February 14, 2005.
Lebanon's Western-backed parties blamed the assassination on Syria, a charge Damascus vehemently rejected.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/141412.html
Hariri: We shouldn't have blamed Syria for father's killing
Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri sounded a note of reconciliation with Syria on Monday in an interview with London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.
"I have turned a new page in relations with Syria since the formation of the current government," said Hariri.
He added, "We found that we had committed some mistakes, and blamed Syria for my father's assassination. The accusation was political. We hurried into assigning guilt."
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=187241 2 mar 2012, 14:40 , Respect -
Maria 4 mar 2012, 10:15 , Respect -
Maria 9 sept 2010
Hezbollah: Hunt Harriri terror framers
Lebanese Hezbollah deputy chief Sheikh Naim Qassem
Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement is demanding the arrest of the masterminds of fake witnesses in the case of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri's assassination.
"It is required to open the case file of the false witnesses so that there will be no distractions," prominent Hezbollah leader Sheikh Naim Qassem said in his remarks published on Thursday.
"But to get to the 'big shots' whom we demand to go down when it is established that they had fabricated and made (their confessions)," Naharnet news portal quoted him as saying.
Late Premier Hariri was killed in Beirut on February 14, 2005, when a massive bombing targeted his vehicle in the Lebanese capital, leaving more than 22 others dead.
Western-backed political parties in Lebanon charged Syria with being behind the assassination, while Israel blamed it on Hezbollah, the accusations Damascus and the Lebanese resistance strongly rejected.
"We will follow up on this issue which will lead to the arrest of the 'big shots'," Shiekh Qassem added. "It is time to hold accountable the perpetrators regardless of their beliefs or sects."
Qassem said Hezbollah awaited the "mechanism" to be decided by the Cabinet, after the findings were put forth by Justice Minister, Ibrahim Najjar.
On Monday, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri acknowledged that he made a mistake to accuse Syria of the murder of his father.
"At one stage, we accused Syria of assassinating the martyred premier... which was a political accusation, and that political accusation is over," he admitted.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/141832.html 4 mar 2012, 12:11 , Respect -
Maria 4 mar 2012, 12:11 , Respect -
Maria 19 sept 2010
Ex-Gen. gains 'access to STL evidence'
Jamil Sayyed (top of the poster) and former head of the Internal Security Forces and Major General Ali Hajj (below) were among four former officials to be arrested without charge following the 2005 assassination.
A former Lebanese general has claimed that the UN tribunal looking into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has given him access to evidence in the case.
Former director of General Security Major General Jamil al-Sayyed said on Sunday that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has placed the evidence it has gathered at his disposal.
"Yesterday [Daniel] Fransen issued a ruling. Fransen said, 'Jamil Sayyed, you have the right to request evidence from us and we have the authority to look into the matter,'" the former general quoted one of the UN justices as saying.
Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on February 14, 2005. Sayyed was among the four senior Lebanese military and security officials who were incarcerated without being charged over the assassination and released three years and eight months later without any explanation.
The former Lebanese official has accused Hariri's son and successor Saad al-Hariri, Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and other figures known to have close relations with the late prime minister of presenting the UN tribunal with false witnesses.
"Listen to what he's saying. Fransen did not tell me in his decision, 'there are no false witnesses, Jamil El-Sayed.' Fransen's decision is a ruling against you, Saad Hariri. It's a ruling against you, Saeed Mirza," Reuters reported.
Sayyed claims Hariri's assassination is being exploited by Beirut to fight Syria and the Hezbollah resistance movement.
"Sheikh Saad, this case will not end until we find the truth and announce it to everyone -- and to punish all those criminals who you are protecting," he said addressing the premier.
In July Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed that he had been informed by Hariri of the STL's plan to implicate a number of the resistance movement's members in connection with the case.
Hezbollah categorically rejects the allegations and has called the tribunal an "Israeli project."
Prosecutor Mirza has summoned Sayyed to Beirut for questioning.
Hezbollah has expressed support for Sayyed and has asked Mirza to cancel his decision to interrogate Sayyed.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143113.html
4 mar 2012, 12:11 , Respect -
Maria 20 sept 2010
Former general accused in Hariri case
Sayyed was one of the four generals detained for four years without trial over Hariri's assassination.
A former Lebanese security official has been accused of fabricating evidence to blame Hezbollah in the assassination of former premier Rafiq Hariri.
Okab Sakr, a close aide to Prime Minister Saad Hariri, charged that Jamil Sayyed fabricated a story alleging Hezbollah involvement in the terror operation, a Press TV correspondent reported on Monday.
In 2005, Rafiq Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in Beirut.
Sakr, an MP from Hariri's March 14 alliance, said that Sayyed had fabricated the account supplied to and published by the prominent German magazine Der Spiegel last year.
This comes after Sayyed accused Saad Hariri, the slain premier's son, of backing false witnesses to the UN tribunal investigating the murder.
Sayyed was one of the four generals detained for four years without trial over Hariri's assassination.
The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was set up by the world body and the Lebanese government in May 2007 to investigate the case.
In July, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said that he had been informed by Hariri of the STL's plan to implicate a number of the resistance movement's members in connection with the case.
Hezbollah has fiercely rejected the allegations, describing the tribunal as an "Israeli project."
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143251.html
Hezbollah accuses Hariri party of fraud
Hezbollah Media Relations Officer Ibrahim Moussawi
Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance movement has accused Prime Minister Saad Hariri's al-Mustaqbal party of "the biggest fraud" in the country's modern history.
On Sunday, Hezbollah Media Relations Officer Ibrahim Moussawi said that Mustaqbal is "staging a coup against state institutions, from the inside, through fully taking advantage of them to serve its interests and run the country as if it was a forsaken farm," Naharnet reported.
Moussawi also condemned the latest stances voiced by some of the party's leaders that have intensified the political atmosphere in the confessionally-divided country.
"The most dangerous thing is the acts of some of this movement's figures who are charging the atmospheres with sectarian tension through dragging the country into the rhetoric of sectarian strife," he said.
Moussawi accused the Western-backed party of classifying political stances according to a sectarian basis, and describing any stance that opposes the premier as opposition to its sect.
The Hezbollah spokesman called on the Mustaqbal's leadership "to act wisely and end the civil strife rhetoric."
Moussawi was referring to accusations hurled against his Islamic resistance movement and Syria by the March 14 coalition -- which also includes Mustaqbal -- of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri in 2005.
Earlier this month, however, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that he made a mistake in accusing Syria of the murder of his father, acknowledging the charges were politically motivated.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143181.html
4 mar 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 4 mar 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 1 oct 2010
Hezbollah says Lebanon PM can fend off tribunal blame
Hezbollah says Lebanon PM can fend off tribunal blame
Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri should use his contacts to prevent Hezbollah being accused by a UN-backed tribunal probing the murder of his father Rafiq, the Shiite group's number two said on Thursday.
"Lebanese parties, with Prime Minister Hariri at their head, can use their contacts to prevent an unjust accusation being levelled against Hezbollah," Sheikh Naim Qassem said in an interview with the LBC television channel.
"He knows how to do that... he has influence, he has regional and international ties and knows the 'cogs' within the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He can make the necessary efforts to ensure any accusation is not unjust," he said.
Qassem was speaking a day after Hariri, whose ex-premier father was killed by a massive car bomb in Beirut in 2005, ruled out any compromise on the tribunal and Hezbollah vowed to try to block financing for the court.
"We say to Prime Minister Hariri that he follow the necessary contacts so that the truth becomes known... he can tell Saudi Arabia to intervene," Qassem said.
Tensions over the tribunal have grown steadily in recent weeks, raising fears of sectarian violence and the collapse of the national unity government in which Hezbollah has two ministers.
Syria, which supports Hezbollah, and Saudi Arabia which backs Hariri stepped in last week in a bid to calm tensions.
A communique issued by the premier's Future Movement said on Wednesday: "It is out of the question to forget the blood spilled by the martyr Rafiq Hariri. We reject any compromise or attempt to do away with the tribunal."
It added that Hariri was keen on seeing the tribunal conclude its investigation into his father's murder, though he did not want that to plunge Lebanon into crisis.
Hezbollah said in July that it expected the UN tribunal, set up in 2007 and based in The Hague, to accuse it of involvement in the Hariri assassination.
Hezbollah and its allies have accused the tribunal of being part of an Israeli plot and of basing its investigation on testimony by "false witnesses".
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/18/20100930/twl-hezbollah-says-lebanon-pm-can-fend-o-3cd7efd_1.html 4 mar 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 3 oct 2010
Lawyer: Syria posts arrest warrants in Hariri case
Attorney for ex-Lebanese army general who was jailed without charge for nearly four years in connection with former Lebanese premier's assassination says Syrian judge issued warrants after repeated summons for people concerned went ignored.
A Syrian lawyer said Sunday that his country's judiciary has issued arrest warrants for 33 people, including senior Lebanese judges and international officials, for allegedly misleading the investigation into the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister.
The attorney, Fasih al-Ashi, represents an ex-Lebanese army general, Jamil al-Sayyed, who was one of four pro-Syrian officers jailed without charge for nearly four years in connection with the 2005 slaying of Rafik Hariri. They were freed last year for lack of evidence.
Syrian government and judicial officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
Al-Ashi told The Associated Press that a Syrian judge issued the arrest warrants Sunday after repeated state summons for the people concerned went ignored. He refused to provide more details or discuss the legal procedures involved.
Al-Sayyed filed the suit against people he says misled the investigation. He brought the case against them in Syria because he says he does not trust Lebanon's judiciary, which he has accused of supporting "false witnesses."
Al-Sayyed's office issued a statement Sunday saying those on Syria's wanted list included senior Lebanese judges, politicians and journalists.
The warrants are unlikely to be executed outside of Syria.
Still, there are concerns the warrants could damage the recent reconciliation between Syria and Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the son of the slain ex-premier, who has traveled to Damascus five times in the past year in an effort to improve relations damaged by the assassination.
The warrants come amid heightened tensions and an escalating political crisis in Lebanon, fueled by the possibility that the Netherlands-based court probing the Hariri slaying could indict some Hezbollah members in the case.
Hezbollah and its backer, Syria, contend the tribunal has been poisoned by witnesses who have given false information. Tensions have increased over media reports that the indictments could be issued as early as this month.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3963547,00.html
4 mar 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 5 oct 2010
Hezbollah, Syria seek to discredit Hariri tribunal
BEIRUT Hezbollah and its ally Syria are mounting a campaign to undermine the U.N. tribunal investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri by raising doubts about the court's neutrality ahead of indictments expected to accuse members of the Shiite militant group in the killing.
Many Lebanese fear that turmoil could erupt in the fragile country if the Netherlands-based court accuses Hezbollah, which boasts Lebanon's strongest armed force and is a partner in a unity government with pro-Hariri parties. There are worries that indictments could cause the government to collapse or spark clashes between the Shiite fighters and Hariri's mainly Sunni allies.
The case has already opened tensions within the government, which is led by Hariri's son Saad. Hezbollah and its allies have pressured the government to stop cooperation with the tribunal, a step Saad Hariri has rejected.
Now, Syria and Hezbollah have stepped up attempts to discredit the tribunal, contending that "false witnesses" who gave misleading or fabricated testimony to U.N. investigators have irretrievably poisoned the case.
This week, Syria's judiciary issued arrest warrants against 33 people for allegedly misleading the investigation, among them figures close to Saad Hariri, including his media adviser, several judges, senior security officers and journalists working in Hariri-owned media outlets.
"By highlighting the case of false witnesses and other mistakes in the investigation, its opponents have succeeded in creating doubts over the tribunal's credibility," said Fadia Kiwan, a political science professor at Beirut's St. Joseph University.
Beyond seeking to discredit the court, the warrants could also further enflame the two sides in Lebanon since the implication is that Hariri's allies tried to frame Syria or Hezbollah in the killing.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri recently acknowledged that false witnesses "misled the investigation ... damaged Lebanese-Syrian relations and politicized the investigation." But the government has not moved to put them on trial. The U.N.-appointed prosecutor has insisted that testimony from false witnesses will not contribute to the indictments.
The tribunal could issue indictments as early as this month. Tribunal officials have not yet named any individuals or countries as suspects, but Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has said he expects members of his group to be indicted. He dismissed the tribunal as an Israeli plot and vowed not to hand anyone over for prosecution.
Fear over chaos stemming from indictments is so strong in the region that in July, the leaders of Syria and Saudi Arabia once bitter rivals traveled to Lebanon together in an unprecedented show of cooperation to calm tempers. This week, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned that "dark clouds have been gathering in Lebanon's skies," but he added an implicit message to Syria and Hezbollah that the tribunal's work must continue.
The suicide truck bomb that killed Rafik Hariri and 22 other people on Feb. 14, 2005 was one of the most dramatic political assassinations in the Middle East. A billionaire businessman, Hariri was Lebanon's most prominent politician after the 15-year civil war ended in 1990.
Suspicion fell on neighboring Syria, since Hariri had been seeking to weaken its domination of the country. Syria has denied having any role in the murder, but the killing galvanized opposition to Damascus. Huge street demonstrations helped end Syria's 29-year military presence, paving the way for pro-Western parties to head the government in subsequent elections.
But four pro-Syrian generals arrested early on in the U.N. investigation were released last year for lack of evidence.
This week's arrest warrants stem from a lawsuit filed last year in Damascus by one of those generals, former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed, claiming that those named in the warrants used false witnesses to try to implicate him and Syria.
The tribunal's investigation of the killing has seen several acknowledged instances of false testimony.
Among them is Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq, a purported Syrian intelligence official who was at first said to be a key witness implicating Syria but whose information was later discredited at the U.N. commission's recommendation.
Another is Husam Husam, a Syrian barber and self-proclaimed intelligence operative who at first implicated Syrian officials in testimony to investigators, then recanted, saying the Hariri family paid him to frame Syria. Lebanon's government dismissed the claim
http://yhoo.it/cxtAEy
Arrest warrants not political: Syria
Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali
Syria says arrest warrants issued against false witnesses in a UN-backed probe into the assassination of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafiq Hariri will not affect Damascus-Beirut ties.
"The arrest warrants are a pure judicial matter and not related to bilateral relationship between (Prime Minister Saad) Hariri and Syria," Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdul Karim Ali said on Monday, Naharnet news portal reported.
A Syrian judge on Sunday issued arrest warrants for 33 people, including senior Lebanese judges and international officials after the state's repeated summons for them were ignored.
The move came after former Lebanese army general Jamil al-Sayyed, who was jailed without charges for nearly four years in connection with Hariri's murder, filed the suit against those he accused of misleading the investigation.
He filed the lawsuit in Syria, citing distrust in Lebanon's judiciary, which he has accused of supporting false witnesses.
Asked about the inclusion of Wissam al-Hasan -- a liaison between Hariri and the Syrian leadership -- in the arrest list, Ali said he believed the issue would not harm bilateral relations. "I don't think this issue is mixed with other cards. Things are purely judicial."
Although the warrants are unlikely to be executed outside Syria, there are concerns that the move might cause a return to the strained relations between the two countries following Hariri's assassination.
The Lebanese cabinet, however, stressed its keenness on strengthening the Lebanese-Syrian ties and appointed Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar to follow up on the issue with his Syrian counterpart.
Western-backed parties in Lebanon had accused Damascus and the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement of involvement in a February 2005 explosion in Beirut that killed Rafiq Hariri along with more than 20 others, a claim vehemently rejected by both Damascus and Hezbollah.
However, Hariri admitted in September that he had wrongly accused Syria of being behind his father's assassination, acknowledging that the accusations were politically charged.
Hezbollah and Syria believe the UN-backed tribunal has been misled by testimonies from false witnesses.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/145267.html 4 mar 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 10 oct 2010
The spineless Hariri
Op-ed: Lebanon PM woefully under-qualified for job, may end up like murdered father.
I do not have much pity for Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who is being hit from all directions. Just like his father, late PM Rafik Hariri, the son may end his life at the same place, under the same circumstances, and through the work of the same elements.
Nobody forced Hariri to be a pathetic prime minister who has no influence. As opposed to his charismatic father, he just doesn't have what it takes; he keeps on showing himself to be a spineless, scared politician who prefers to flee to Paris or to his Saudi patrons when the going gets tough.
Through his mediocre struggle for survival, undertaken along with his babysitters from Washington, Paris, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Hariri Junior is turning out to be woefully under-qualified for the job he clings to.
The Lebanese prime minister is merely a button. The moment the decision is taken to get rid of him, a vehicle will rush towards him or an explosive device will be detonated. In the real battle between the Saudi royal house and Syria's presidential palace, nobody really counts him.
Meanwhile, Hariri himself no longer dreams of avenging his father's assassination and spinelessly went to meet Nasrallah (his father's executioner) and Assad (the assassination's mastermind); the only thing he cares about is survival.
However, Damascus is not giving up the games of humiliation. Assad issued detention orders for 33 prominent Beirut VIPs the justice minister, the state prosecutor, parliamentarians, ambassadors, jurists, and veteran journalists. It's easy to identify the common denominator of the names on the list: All of them had been marked as Hariri associates and all of them dared criticize Syria.
Hezbollah gaining strength
Not only did Assad force Hariri to submissively report in Damascus five times and embrace the person he believes sent the assassination squad that killed his father, the Syrian president is now signaling that he does not intend to let go until Lebanon demands to call off the probes into the Hariri killing. As far as he is concerned, Hariri can go ahead and beg for his life.
Assad's brutality shows that he has something to lose should the full picture be revealed. One person who was familiar with the secrets, Ghazi Kanaan, had been assassinated. The second one, former Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam, fled for his life to Paris. He too tops the most wanted lists now.
On Wednesday, the cameramen will be ordered to accompany Ahmadinejad's provocative visit. The Iranian president forced himself upon Hariri and dictated the timetable. In Beirut, he will open his bags and pull out financial promises. Later, his aides will provide Hezbollah's leaders with plenty of cash.
It's important to make a distinction between the nuclear Iranian threat and the gradual plan being implemented in the field: Lebanon is the most prominent country in the list of targets earmarked by the Ayatollahs in a bid to expand their influence and capture outposts that would move them closer to the ultimate goal open a road through Iraq, establish bases in Lebanon, flank through Africa, and complete the circle by taking over Muslim holy sites in Saudi Arabia.
Harari has not yet decided whether his headaches originate in Tehran or whether the real problem lies in Damascus. For the time being, he holds on to his chair, yet at any moment now he may sustain another kick to a sensitive body part. So what if he doesn't want Ahmadinejad to visit the border with Israel - who's asking Hariri anyway? So what if he's trying to ignore the most wanted list produced by Damascus? To be honest, Israel disregards him too.
The essence of the bad news is as follows:
Hezbollah gains more power every day. For the time being it's unclear whether it will be joining forces with both Iran and Syria, or whether one of these axis-of-evil members will be granted exclusivity.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3966733,00.html
4 mar 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 4 mar 2012, 12:12 , Respect -
Maria 20 oct 2010
Hariri assassination reconstructed
A picture of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri is placed on top of his tomb in downtown Beirut on September 7, 2010.
France has hosted reconstructed assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri in an alleged bid to answer the questions about the 2005 foul play.
The Tuesday trial in a southwestern military base saw explosives detonated to mimic the circumstances of the incident in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, which claimed the life of the victim alongside 22 others, Reuters reported.
"We weren't kept informed of the details but we knew that there would be an explosion on the day of the reconstruction. It happened at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT)," said Georges Bernard, mayor of the nearby village of Captieux.
The United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon was set up by the world body and the Lebanese government in May 2007 to investigate the assassination. The court is expected to announce its findings by the end of 2010.
In an August speech, the Lebanese resistance movement, Hezbollah's Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah presented evidence proving that Israel masterminded the murder.
The televised address, featured video materials captured by Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as well as recorded confessions by Israeli fifth columnists substantiating that the killing was carried out on orders from Tel Aviv.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/147410.html