Lebanese tension swirls over Syrian arrest warrants in Hariri case

Oct 4, 2010, 20:47 GMT

Beirut - Tension escalated anew Monday in Lebanon over the 2005 Rafik Hariri assassination case as Syria issued arrest warrants against individuals in neighbouring Lebanon for alleged false testimony.

Syria on Sunday issued 33 arrest warrants against judges, officers, politicians and journalists of Lebanese, Arab and other nationalities who are named in a lawsuit filed in Syrian court by a one-time Lebanese suspect in the assassination case.

The suspect, former director general of Lebanese Internal Security Jamil Sayyed, who worked closely with Syrian forces during the decades-long occupation by Syria, was arrested in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of former prime minister Hariri.

He was detained for four years, until 2009, when he was released due to lack of evidence. His lawsuit claims he was the victim of a conspiracy of false testimonies.

In a first official reaction to the Syrian arrest warrants, the Lebanese cabinet late Monday assigned justice minister Ibrahim Najjar to discuss the issue with his Syrian counterpart from a legal point of view.

Syria's ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali, who met with Lebanese officials on Monday, stressed that the warrants had no political motivation.

'This is a purely legal case,' he said. 'The issue is not linked to bilateral relations between Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Syria.'

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea criticized the arrest warrants, saying: 'The Syrian judiciary does not have jurisdiction in this matter because the assassination ... took place on Lebanese soil.'

'Never in Syria's history has its judiciary issued a warrant against an individual from another country,' he said.

Lebanese premier Saad Hariri, who has been trying to mend fences with Syria, last month noted that false witnesses had misled the UN- led investigation into his father's assassination. He admitted that his western-backed coalition had unfairly rushed to accuse Syria in the attack.

Amin Gemyal, leader of the Phalangist Party that is part of the current governing coalition and a former president, called Syria's move 'more like warrants to arrest Lebanese-Syrian relations.'

Those sought in the Syrian arrest warrants include Lebanese personalities such as former minister and current MP Marwan Hamadah; former justice minister Charles Rizk. Also sought is the former head of the UN International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC), Detlev Mehlis, and his assistant, Gerhard Lehmann.

A western diplomat in Beirut said the Syrian warrants would definitely 'hurt the newly mended Lebanese-Syrian relations.'

Syrian-Lebanese relation soured following the 2005 assassination because Hariri's followers blamed Syria and its allies in Lebanon for his killing. Hariri had long pushed for Syria to withdraw its lingering presence from his country.

The Syrian warrants come amidst growing tension over the UN tribunal itself, which is investigating the Hariri murder and reportedly plans to charge pro-Syrian Hezbollah militants in the killing.

A Lebanese judicial source said he believed that Syria was using the warrants to put pressure on the Hariri government to withdraw support for the UN tribunal.

Oqab Sakr, a deputy in Hariri's parliamentary majority, said on Monday, 'this is a shocking development that targets relations between the prime minister and the Syrian leadership.'

Read more about Lebanon Conflict

Read more about Syria