BEIRUT,
August 30, 2005 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – Lebanese
Premier Fuad Siniora confirmed the arrest of three former Lebanese
security chiefs on Tuesday, August 30, as suspects in the killing of
former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
Jamil
Al-Sayyed, the former head of General Security, Ali Hajj, ex-chief of
police and former military intelligence chief Raymond Azar were
arrested by Lebanese police in dawn raids at the request of German
Detlev Mehlis, the chief of the UN investigation team, reported
Reuters.
The
three officials, who all resigned amid public fury over the
assassination of Hariri in a massive Beirut bomb blast on February 14,
"will be interrogated as suspects," Siniora said in a
statement read on television.
Mustafa
Hamdan, incumbent commander of the Republican Guard, voluntarily
turned himself in to the UN team after an arrest warrant was issued.
Former
minister Nasser Qandil broke off a visit to the Syrian capital to
appear before the inquiry commission.
The
assassination of the billionaire five-time premier was blamed by many
on the security chiefs for negligence and a role in the attempted
cover-up of the murder.
It
plunged Lebanon into chaos, sparking mass demonstrations against
Syria, which at the time had 14,000 troops in Lebanon and was a key
player in the political game.
The
UN decided on February 18, to send a security team to investigate the
horrendous murder.
Damascus
has pledged to cooperate with the UN team but vociferously denied any
role in the killing.
Major
Development
 |
(Clockwise from top L): Al-Sayed, Al-Hajj, Azar ,Qandil, Hamdan (Courtesy Aljazeera)
|
The
arrest of the three former security chiefs is the first major arrests
in the probe into Hariri's killing.
Justice
Minister Charles Rizk said the arrests were made at the request of the
UN investigation team.
"According
to what prosecutor Mehlis told me, their questioning will determine
the coming steps taken against them," Siniora said.
The
five men can be held for up to four days after which they would be
released or charged under the Lebanese justice system.
Lebanese
security officials reported that former justice minister Adnan Addoum
had also been summoned to the UN investigation, but a statement by the
justice ministry did not mention him.
Just
Start
The
arrests were welcomed as a step toward revealing the mystery of the
former premier’s killing, Reuters said.
"The
arrests in Beirut are the beginning of justice," Hariri's son
Saad told Arab television news channel Al-Arabiya from Paris.
"This
is a start ... There will be more arrests."
Hariri's
slate swept the Lebanese legislative elections, organized months after
his father assassination, and commands a majority in the parliament.
Ordinary
Lebanese also welcomed the move but expressed concern that the outcome
of the investigation could fuel more unrest in the tiny country.
"I
am happy the truth will soon be revealed but I am afraid the truth
could mean turmoil and more explosions," said Sami al-Arab, a
23-year-old chef.
Hit
List
Meanwhile,
MP and journalist Gibran Tueini said Monday he had been informed of a
possible hit-list, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
"Certain
political figures, including myself, are directly threatened," he
said.
Tueini
had received "a report from Lebanese security officials in which
the international commission speaks of the existence of a list of
Lebanese political figures who could be assassinated".
Saad
Hariri has acknowledged in interviews with US television stations that
he had been keeping away from Beirut most of the time since the
elections in May for fear of attack.
Hariri
has for the past two weeks been in Paris, where several onetime
opposition figures such as Communications Minister Marwan Hamadeh have
also moved in recent days, according to Beirut newspapers.
