Lebanese judge rejects release of four generals (2nd Roundup)

Feb 27, 2009, 18:32 GMT

Beirut - A Lebanese investigating judge rejected Friday a release request by the defence of four high-ranking Lebanese generals, detained since 2005 for suspected involvement in the murder that year of ex-premier Rafik Hariri, a judicial source said Friday.

'Judge Sakr Sakr has denied all requests for the release of the four detained Lebanese generals,' a Ministry of Justice source told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa on condition of anonymity.

The judge took his decision following deliberations with the public prosecution, the source said.

The four generals - currently held in Lebanon's central jail in Roumieh 20 kilometers northeast of Beirut - are the former head of the presidential guard Mustafa Hamdan, security services director Jamil Sayyed, domestic security chief Ali Hajj and military intelligence chief Raymond Azar.

In a statement issued later, the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah called on Judge Sakr to take as soon as possible 'the right decision' and release the four generals.

The statement stressed that the four 'have not actually been questioned for more than three years, a fact that constitutes proof that their detention was arbitrary from the beginning.'

Hezbollah called on Judge Sakr to resort only 'to his conscience and to the law' in order making a final verdict, and urged him to ignore political pressure.

Unconfirmed reports indicated that the four generals may be transferred to The Hague, once the UN Special tribunal is launched on Sunday to try suspects in the Hariri assassination.

The pro-Syrian camp in Lebanon has maintained that the arrest of the four generals was a political pressure imposed on Syria, since the four were close allies of Damascus and were cooperating with Syrian security forces during the Syrian political and military presence in the country, which ended in 2005 following the Hariri assassination.

However, on Wednesday, Judge Sakr released three others also detained since 2005 over the murder of Hariri.

No reason was given by the judicial authorities for the release of the three, but observers speculated that a deal might have been struck with these to testify against the key suspects in return for their freedom.

None of the seven who were arrested in connection with Hariri's murder four years ago has been indicted, as Lebanese authorities have been waiting for the UN probe to conclude and the court be set up.

In remarks carried in the Lebanese media on Friday Mahmoud Abdel Aal, one of the three suspects who was released earlier this week, said: 'We were free even when we were behind bars.'

However, he denied any kind of 'a certain deal' that led to his release. 'We were innocent since we were abducted,' he added.