Rafik Hariri Tribunal Releases Names Of Four Suspects

  

AMSTERDAM/BEIRUT, July 29 (Reuters) - The U.N.-backed Lebanon tribunal on Friday released the names, photographs and details of four men wanted for killing statesman Rafik al-Hariri, saying it acted in a bid to speed up their arrest.

Lebanon received the indictments and four arrest warrants from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) last month. While the suspects were not named then, Lebanese officials said the accused were members of the Shi'ite militant movement Hezbollah.

Hezbollah accuses the tribunal of being a tool of the United States and Israel and denies any link to the 2005 assassination.

Pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen ordered the lifting of confidentiality on the full names, aliases, biographical information, photographs and charges against the individuals named in the indictment, the tribunal said in a statement.

"The Prosecutor further submits that making the requested information available in public fora may increase the likelihood of apprehending the accused in the event that any of them are noticed by the public," the tribunal said in a statement.

There was no immediate reaction from Hezbollah, but an analyst said the release of the names was unlikely to help catch the suspects because the men were no longer in the country.

Hilal Khashan, a Lebanon-based political commentator, said that the Lebanese government, which is backed by Hezbollah, was unable to assist the tribunal.

"The government says they are cooperating with the tribunal but they haven't found anyone. We know that the four members are not in Lebanon. Hezbollah removed them from the scene to help the government, which can now say it looked for the four but couldn't find them," he said.

"Hezbollah did this because it would be very embarrassing for the government if the four were on Lebanese territory."

The suspects named were Mustafa Amine Badreddine, a senior Hezbollah figure and brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, as well as Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra.

SERIES OF CRISES

Hariri's assassination plunged Lebanon into a series of political crises, killings and bombings that led to sectarian clashes in May 2008, dragging the country back to the brink of civil war.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the authorities would never arrest members of the Shi'ite militant group. He dismissed the accusations as unfounded and a failed attempt to sow strife and bring down Lebanon's new Hezbollah-backed government.

"They cannot find them or arrest them in 30 days or 60 days, or in a year, two years, 30 years or 300 years," Nasrallah said at the time.

Under the court proceedings, Lebanese officials have 30 days to make arrests after receiving indictments.

Hezbollah, both a Shi'ite political movement and guerrilla army, said it had nothing to do with the huge explosion on the Beirut seafront which killed Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who served several terms as prime minister, and 22 others in February 2005. (Reporting by Sara Webb in Amsterdam and Oliver Holmes in Beirut; editing by Mark Heinrich)

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[squiems]

02:40 AM on 08/01/2011

At the very least we know hezbollah will think again before attacking the druze; they got roughed up pretty hard, with a couple of dozen dead last time they tried that. Saad Hariri may not be so lucky. Unfortunately, I wouldn't be surprised to see a syrian car-bomb with his name on it sometime soon after this, granted the syrian intelligence community isn't completely swamped shooting teenagers, inciting palestinian refugees to attack the israeli border, and searching twitter to find unarmed protesters to throw into dungeons.

[madsen26]

10:05 AM on 07/30/2011

What's interesting is that this article is only about Hepzbollah and current government reactions, not about the wider reactions within Lebanon. And there isn't, because this is a stale piece of news with a foregone conclusion. Meanwhile, life has moved on in Lebanon to a large extent. Saad Hariri went on dealing with Hepzbollah internally, Saad went to Damascus and talked about normalizing relations with Syria. He is a pragmatist because he's a politician. But Hepzbollah isn't being very pragmatic at all because they're making a big issue out of these four and stonewalling the commission findings, making this into a zero sum game over four individuals they're still insisting on defending by defying the investigation. Time to throw these four under a bus for the greater political good. Look at how politicians in history do this everywhere - not just within the middle east but also notably in Europe. Every single last former communist state probably has examples of high-ranking individuals who were either personally communist party members or cooperated with them - Kohl with the Staasi, Merkel a former east German communist girl, so many who either cooperated secretly or outright with communists, and everyone claiming the next day that they're "reformed" and how a nation has to turn a page or it will never end. Hepzbollah needs to get smart and take the right lessons from the historical "survivors". It's cynical? It's politics.

[squiems]

11:15 PM on 08/01/2011

How many times are you going to try to post that i'm a racist for insisting israelis have the right to self defense. Dozens of israelis died in terrorist attacks from terrorists based inside lebanon during the 70s and 80s. They had no choice but to stop them.

Far more japanese than americans died in world war II. Doesn't change the fact that the japanese were the aggressors.

[madsen26]

08:46 PM on 08/02/2011

Try? You are. Here it is again...

The only bigot is you, since all humans have the right to self defense and not just "the Jews". Learn to capitalize and go away, you little neo-nazi.

[squiems]

10:34 AM on 08/02/2011

The only bigot here is the one who denies the jews the right to self defense.

[madsen26]

12:27 PM on 08/02/2011

The only bigot is you, since all humans have the right to self defense and not just "the Jews". Learn to capitalize and go away, you little neo-nazi.

[madsen26]

09:53 AM on 07/30/2011

Time for the Lebanese government and Hepzbollah to move on and draw a line under this assassination by issuing warrants and expelling these four from Hepzbollah and again issuing a denial of any wider knowledge of their actions. In other words, do some housecleaning and become a party that can govern without this incident hanging around its neck forever. Hariri has already done his part and gone to Damascus, and the Syrians have an ambassador in Beirut. The Lebanese-Syrian relationship was evolving in a better way, but this Hariri killig needs to be dealt with more decisively by Hepzbollah. If' these four are not on Lebanese soil, then that's the best moment to do all of that without the whole matter becoming more challenging for them.

[mahmoodbanned]

11:42 PM on 07/29/2011

a couple of the usual suspects showed up hoping to blame the Mossad..saw it was useless..and took their hate home for the night!

[mahmoodbanned]

11:39 PM on 07/29/2011

A couple of the "usual suspects" showed up earlier to blame Israel! What a shocker! They sniffed around for some hope..but Hezbollah got called out..and they went back home to get their diapers changed!

[lawdini]

11:21 PM on 07/29/2011

Arabs killing Arabs for more power. And the world turns. Israel doesn't have to lift a finger to defeat these fools. Just let them eat themselves alive.

[wom122]

11:27 PM on 07/30/2011

"Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth: Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him, and he turn away his wrath from him." (Proverbs 24:17–18, King James

[mahmoodbanned]

11:20 PM on 07/29/2011

Shocking! Hezbollah members? Proxies of Iran? Who would have guessed???? ( EVERYONE!!)

[Naor]

11:02 PM on 07/29/2011

A pathetic 38 comments? This is PROOF that all the Israel haters don't really care about "human rights" and "democracy" like they claim they do. They are no where to be found when Arabs commit crimes, but one can only imagine how many thousands of comments there would be bashing Israel (all under the false mantra of being anti-Zionist not anti-Semetic) if the UN had found the culprits were Jews. The worlds hypocrisy when it comes to Jews shows itself again.

[mahmoodbanned]

11:21 PM on 07/29/2011

If one had been an Israeli..there would be 1500 comments by now!

[jamesjv]

05:08 AM on 07/30/2011

I agree 100% with your post. There may very well be a WW.III, but not for the reasons most people think.

It would be better to confront Iran now, before they get nu.kes, than later when they already have them. If Iran gets nu.kes and gives them to Hez bollah or Ha mas (who are crazy enough to use them) then Israel will retaliate, not only against the Pale stinians, but against Iran as well. That may very well bring in bring in the US, and possibly Russia. The Mus lim nations would choose sides, as would Europe. Then its Arma geddon.

[rurichman]

10:26 PM on 07/29/2011

whose burying this story? when do people realize, when will the world really speak out with the same volatility that it does with every opportunity to condemn Israel, that there are so many dots connecting Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, and Syria to out right murder, torture, regime change, fascist dictatorships that its no longer a series of dots but a direct line to these out right murderers. Yea I know. it's pointless,

[wom122]

08:54 PM on 07/29/2011

Like many powerful men, Hariri had no shortage of enemies inside as well as outside Lebanon. Likely the tribunal's investigations, flawed from day one, will lead nowhere and Hariri's would be another unsolved murder to be added to a long list of political assasinations in Lebanon's modern history.

[Marcus047]

09:16 PM on 07/29/2011

Nothing unsolved about it, just unaccepted by those who don't like dealing with reality. Everyone knew who was responsible from day one.

[Leon Engelun]

01:03 PM on 07/29/2011

I have pretty much come to the conclusion that Religion breeds wars.

[myopinion2]

02:05 PM on 07/29/2011

As opposed to communism, facism, colonialism, desire for resources, wealth.

Humans make war. Humans make religion, and ideologies.

[mahmoodbanned]

11:40 PM on 07/29/2011

No..in addition to all of that!

[mommamia526]

02:00 PM on 07/30/2011

Do you think that the murder of Hariri was a religious issue? Really? Because he was a Maronite Christian? I rather think it might have been one component of the hatred against him, and his murder, but the main issue is POWER. What kind of power? Well, could it be Syrian power over Lebanon? Iranian power? Just the power of one Nasr'allah? I think there is more to it than religion. It is about a fight between Arabs against other Arabs for power, and it is at work all over the ME, in the Magrib, and it even exists in other parts of Africa, where Arabs seek to dominate the natives. And let us not forget the far East either, where they are also operating full force, or Europe..

[spiritusmundi]

12:03 PM on 07/29/2011

The fact remains that nothing legitimizes Hezbollah more than Israeli aggression against Lebanon.
Whatever the evidence- circumstantial, physical or eyewitness- it is only natural that many people in the greater Middle East would view the Special Tribunal with suspicion, given the fact that it is neither free nor impartial; the fact is that its conclusions were foregone once it began- it was designed to place the finger of blame on Israel's "enemy de jour", which should be obvious when blame was shifted from Syria to Hezbollah and its Iranian patron.
Anyone who believes that this is fair, impartial and objective justice and not part of the US-neo-con great game of marginalizing Iran and its proxies is either extremely naive or is an unapologetic neo-con.
The whole situation is rigged and booby-trapped with a whole series of phony concerns, faux casus belli, and imaginary threats and the war pump is being primed. The foolish west- US, Israel, and their NATO camp followers are on the verge of a very dangerous precipice- perhaps the Third World War- and it is extremely ironic that we are merely two years away from the Centennial of the First.

[spindok]

02:52 PM on 07/29/2011

"The foolish west- US, Israel, and their NATO camp followers are on the verge of a very dangerous precipice- perhaps the Third World War- and it is extremely ironic that we are merely two years away from the Centennial of the First."

Is that supposed to frighten us? You really think that Americans or Israelis are going to be intimidated the way the Lebanese have and become Tehran's puppy dog because of your threats and conspiracy rants?

Not gonna work.


"

[spiritusmundi]

03:09 PM on 07/29/2011

Your reply shows just how little regard you have for the lessons of history. If the US or Israel- or some combination thereof- initiate a war with Iran, then all hell will break loose- guaranteed. It was people like you who, in 1914, cheered the brightly uniformed imperial troops off to certain victory; only a few years later Europe was in ruins and there were tens of millions of dead.
Lebanon become Iran's puppy dog? Well, your favorite regime prodded them, invaded them and brutalized them to the point where they had little choice but to seek an alliance. After all, the "enemy of my enemy" and what not. I'm not making any threats and the only "conspiracy rant" is your Iranian "puppy" theme.

[mommamia526]

03:30 PM on 07/29/2011

Wow! But, Israelis, the West, U.SA. NATO-camp followers and whomever else is on your targetlist, have not one thing to do with the MURDER of Mr. Hariri.

Mr Hariri is dead and has been dead, in spite of your theories. A special tribunal has named four guilty people, and they are, all four of them, Lebanese Shia Hizbullah members. As you may remember, Hezbullah also threatened to bring down the Lebanese government, IF there were to be a tribunal and has since done so. Why all that noise, if they are innocent as the driven snow?

What appears to be obvious to you, is not nearly as obvious to others. One fact is irrefutable, however, Hariri is, and remains, dead.

[GZLives]

11:38 AM on 07/29/2011

Do those Brit Leftists and Norman Finkelstein still consider themselves "all Hezbollah now" ?

[yonatan c]

11:49 AM on 07/29/2011

Of course they do, all they have to do is blame it on Israel and they continue their narrative unabated. It is easy being an Arab/Muslim apologist, you can just blame everything on Israel or the US.

[mahmoodbanned]

11:23 PM on 07/29/2011

And it always gets posted on HP!

[mahmoodbanned]

11:28 PM on 07/29/2011

Fanned! Truer words were not spoken here today!

[CubnKira]

11:15 AM on 07/29/2011

Finally after years of holding back this info, the culprit has been identified and it is Hezbollah. Any one surprised? This terror org. who killed 241 U.S. Marines in Lebanon who were there to keep the peace is evil to its core. They have already ruined Lebanon, once called the Paris of the Mideast. Now, on to another war with Israel where casualties will be high on both sides. Since they are now an official part of the Lebanon government, all bets are off if Israel is attacked.

[myopinion2]

01:35 PM on 07/29/2011

Thanks for reminding us about the terrorist attack on the Marines. No one ever mentions it.

[Erewhon7]

11:03 AM on 07/29/2011

What?! An entire U./N. report without a single condemnation of Is-el?!!
Not to worry.
Sure Huff-Puff cyberShariah contingent will fill in the gap with their own halluci.nations.