Israel asked to aid U.N. Hariri probe
Leader of international investigation into killing of former prime minister asks Lebanon's neighbors for assistance
Acting U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson said she presumed the request was for any information they had available, such as people who may have crossed their borders into Lebanon.
Veteran German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis has organized a team of about 30 experts from his own country, the Netherlands, and Britain, Patterson said.
"He (Mehlis) has written to Jordan, Syria and Israel asking for assistance (because) they are neighbors," Patterson said. "To me this makes sense, given my experience overseas."
"You would want to know who crossed the borders and so you would ask neighboring countries what their customs records show," Patterson said, adding that this was her presumption and not part of a briefing given to the council by Ibrahim Gambari, the undersecretary-general for political affairs.
Under investigation
Hariri was killed by a car bomb on February 14 in Beirut after he accused Syria of meddling in Lebanon's internal politics. Lebanese opposition politicians blamed Damascus for his death, which Syria has vigorously denied.
Mehlis, who arrived in Beirut last month, has three months to complete his work under a U.N. Security Council resolution authorizing the investigation.
However, if he finds he needs more time, the council can grant him an extra three months.
The Security Council ordered an outside inquiry in April after a U.N. fact-finding mission, led by Irish Deputy Police Commissioner Peter Fitzgerald, concluded that Lebanon's own inquiry into the killing had "serious flaws" and could not reach a credible conclusion.
