Hariri probe slammed

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Hezbollah blasts Hariri UN tribunal

Sun Oct 10, 2010 6:42AM

Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah has criticized the way the UN tribunal is handling the case of Lebanon's ex-premier Rafiq Hariri's assassination.

In a televised address on Saturday, Nasrallah accused the tribunal of protecting false witnesses who misled the investigation.

He said that the court must provide sufficient evidence that it is a judicial investigation body and would not be affected by fabricated testimonies in the future indictment.

"It is a political investigation which is masked by a judicial covering and made into a judicial system. All of these in the past have proved that the special tribunal was used as a political tool," the Hezbollah chief said.

In 2005, Lebanese former premier Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in the capital city of Beirut.

The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon was set up by the world body and the Lebanese government in May 2007 to investigate the case.

Western-backed parties in Lebanon accused Syria and the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah of involvement in the Hariri murder, a claim rejected by both Damascus and Hezbollah.

In September, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri admitted to have wrongly accused Syria of being behind his father's assassination and acknowledged that the accusations were politically charged.


Hezbollah slams UN for 'meddling'

Wed Oct 20, 2010

Lebanon's Hezbollah has accused the United Nations of interfering in the country's internal affairs amid the world body's pressure to disarm the resistance movement.

The UN released a report on Monday concerning the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1559, which calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all armed factions on Lebanese soil and the withdrawal of all foreign forces from the country.

In the report, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned of a new climate of "uncertainty" in Lebanon that could spread instability across the Middle East.

Hezbollah issued a statement on Wednesday, lashing out at the world body for its "interference in internal Lebanese affairs, as well as political interference in the affairs of the international tribunal" probing the 2005 assassination of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, AFP reported.

"It would seem that Ban Ki-moon... failed to notice that Hezbollah, and for quite some time, has been at the heart of Lebanese politics through its representation in parliament and cabinet," Hezbollah's statement said.

"It would also seem that he did not find the time to read Lebanon's government statement."

In November, Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government adopted a policy statement that enshrined Hezbollah's right to use its weapons against Israeli threats and incursions.

Hezbollah, which staged a crushing resistance against the enemy forces in the 2006 war with Israel, has repeatedly reiterated its support for the Lebanese army and pledged to protect the country against Israel.

Southern Lebanon was under Israeli control until 2000 when the Israeli army withdrew its forces after more than two decades of occupation.


Hezbollah women chase UN men out of Beirut clinic

Friday October 29, 2010

Dozens of women have chased UN investigators out of a private clinic in Beirut when they tried to question doctors about patients' personal information.

Dr. Iman Sharara, who runs the obstetrics and gynecology clinic, told reporters that she was meeting with the two investigators who visited the clinic to review phone records on Wednesday.

They had requested the phone numbers of 14 to 17 patients who visited the clinic since 2003.

Sharara went on to say that when she went to ask her secretary for the files needed, she was surprised by a crowd of women who had stormed the waiting room.

The UN team was supposedly trying to conduct interviews in connection with the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri for the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon, The Associated Press reported.

Hezbollah quoted two female patients on its Al-Manar TV station as saying that they were reacting at the presence of the two investigators who were foreign men, an Australian and a French national.

A police official said more than 30 women stormed the building with 75 others outside.

He went on to say that the crowd had been yelling curses and one demonstrator stole an investigator's briefcase.

Many Lebanese reportedly suspect that some UN investigators also serve as Israeli informants.

The tribunal's president, Judge Antonio Cassese, released a statement saying, "During the meeting, a large group of people showed up unexpectedly and violently attacked the investigators and their female interpreter."

The Lebanese army took away the two investigators and their female interpreter to receive medical attention after the incident.


Hezbollah: STL spied for West, Israel

Thusday October 28, 2010

Hezbollah says the UN tribunal, investigating the former Lebanese premier's assassination, has been channeling data on the country to the West and Israel.

Under the guise of solving the murder, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has been penetrating "every single sector" within the country to obtain information, the Lebanese resistance movement's Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Thursday.

It would then direct the data to the Western intelligence services and Tel Aviv, he added, addressing the faithful in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri was killed alongside more than 20 other people in a massive car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

The STL was subsequently set up by the United Nations and the Lebanese government in May 2007 to investigate the assassination. The court is expected to announce its findings by the end of 2010.

Nasrallah said in July that he had been informed by the slain leader's son and successor, Saad Hariri, that the court "will accuse some undisciplined [Hezbollah] members."

He has rejected the allegation and warned that the plot was part of "a dangerous project that is targeting the resistance."

In an August speech, Nasrallah presented evidence proving that Israel had masterminded the assassination. The televised address featured video materials, captured by Israeli unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), as well as recorded confessions by Israeli fifth columnists, substantiating that Tel Aviv had been behind the killing.

Nasrallah said the investigators had been infiltrating deep into the country even before the tribunal took its current form.

Why does the investigators want "medical files of women" who are related to members of Hezbollah?, Nasrallah questioned after exposing that the team had asked for more than 7,000 of such files.

He said the intrusion impinged on the honor of the Lebanese.

"We always know the magnitude" of the scheme, the resistance leader said, but warned, "We stop here."

He said the movement has been silent on the matter so that it is not accused of disrupting the investigation and causing tension within the country.

Monday November 1, 2010

UN tribunal politicized, Hezbollah says

Hezbollah has fired an acerbic broadside at the UN tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri, saying it is politically motivated.


"Hezbollah is against the International Tribunal because we are absolutely confident that it (the party) is not responsible for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri," Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Qassem told the Qatari newspaper al-Watan.

According to unconfirmed reports, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon plans to charge some Hezbollah members in connection with the assassination of Hariri, who was killed in a massive car bomb explosion on February 14, 2005 that also killed 22 other people.

However, Qassem said Hezbollah is opposed to the tribunal since it "has gone beyond its target of finding the truth" behind the 2005 assassination.

Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Hariri assassination, saying it does not recognize the tribunal because it is an "Israeli project" aimed at undermining the resistance movement.

The resistance movement also accuses the tribunal of basing its investigations on testimonies provided by "false witnesses."

In addition, Hezbollah's deputy secretary general stated that Hezbollah members will not hand themselves over to the tribunal.

Meanwhile, a Hezbollah MP, Ali Ammar, reiterated the stance of Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah, saying the group will protect officials who refuse to cooperate with the tribunal.

“Those accusing Hezbollah of threatening the state are themselves working with the real threat, which is the Zionist project to sow division in Lebanon,” Ammar told the al-Manar television network.

In August, Nasrallah provided a series of documents proving Israel's involvement in Hariri's murder.

The evidence included footage taken by Israeli drones of the routes frequented by Hariri prior to his assassination as well as recorded confessions by Israeli fifth columnists substantiating that the murder of the Lebanese prime minister was carried out on orders from Tel Aviv.

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