Middle East News
Lebanon releases four generals after tribunal decision (2nd Roundup)
By DPA
Apr 29, 2009, 16:56 GMT

Beirut - Lebanon released Wednesday four Lebanese generals who were held for nearly four years without charges over the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik Hariri, shortly after Daniel Fransen, pre-trial judge at the special tribunal for Lebanon, called for their freedom.

Amid tight security, a convoy of bullet-proof cars left the Roumieh Central Jail, 20 kilometres northeast of Beirut, with the released generals.

'The Lebanese state is committed to Judge Fransen's decision in releasing the four generals and security their safety,' Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said.

The four are Jamil Sayyed, 58, General Security chief and probably the most powerful Lebanese under Syrian dominance; police chief Ali al-Hajj, 52, army intelligence chief Raymond Azar, 56, and the head of the Presidential Guard Brigade Mustafa Hamdan, 53. They were accused of plotting the killing of Hariri.

In the ruling, the tribunal's first since opening its doors on March 1, Fransen granted a request by prosecutor Daniel Bellemare who said the available evidence was 'not sufficiently credible' to hold the generals.

The men 'cannot at this stage of the investigation be considered as either suspects or accused persons,' said Fransen in a decision broadcast live on Lebanese television.

Fransen said that a key witness had retracted a statement that initially incriminated the generals, undermining the case against them. Bellemare said in court he would not appeal.

General Sayyed, addressing a crowd in front of his residence after his release, said: 'Today the four generals are released and the only prisoner left is the martyr (premier) Rafik Hariri, and his jailer is the Lebanese judiciary.'

'The body of Rafik Hariri was used to force the Syrians out of Lebanon,' the pro-Syrian general added.

He called for Lebanon's general prosecutor Saeed Mirza and judge Sakr Sakr to be puit on trial for keeping the generals in detention nearly four years without charges.

General al-Hajj, who was in charged of the security of the late Hariri in 2000, said 'what happened during four years was concealment of the truth.

General Azar said on his arrival at his home in east Beirut that 'the release gave us justice, and our right was guaranteed from the first day of arrest.'

Shortly before the release of the four, Hariri's son Saad Hariri told reporters: 'I welcome all the decisions issued by the tribunal. We do believe that the tribunal will reveal the truth behind the assassination.

'I ask the Lebanese to support the tribunal. The truth will not be lost. Our cause is to punish the killers of late ex-Premier Rafik Hariri and reach results.'

Folwwoing their release, the four generals were welocmed at their homes by members of the pro-Syrian Hezbollah-led opposition, while followers chanted 'the four heroes are released.'

'We are very happy at this decision. This is the real truth that we have been waiting for. The generals were innocent,' the wife of General Seyyed told the German Press Agency dpa.

A UN investigative commission in 2005 said there was evidence that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services were linked to Hariri's killing. Damascus has consistently denied any involvement.

Hariri's killing led to an international outcry that forced Syria, to end 30 years of military presence in its small neighbour in April 2005.

The ruling by the international tribunal will have a political impact, as it comes ahead of a crucial election in June which will witness a close race between the Hezbollah-led opposition and the Western-backed ruling majority, headed by Hariri's son.

The decision of the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon was eagerly awaited in Lebanon, as the court has been at the centre of a tug-of- war between Lebanon's pro- and anti-Syrian factions.

Under Lebanese law, suspects detained for crimes perceived to threaten national security can be held indefinitely without charge.

Former Lebanese president Emile Lahoud, under whom the four generals worked in 2005, stressed that he 'never doubted for one minute' that the four generals were innocent. 'Their detention was politicized and not based on any accusations,' he said.