Former Lebanese PM al-Hariri – murdered in Beirut Photo: Reuters
Syria: Hariri report ‘far from truth’
Official says U.N. report on killing of former Lebanese PM al-Hariri ‘part of deception’; meanwhile, Lebanese President Lahoud dismisses charges he may have been involved in plot
Syria’s information minister said a U.N. report which implicated high-ranking Syrian officials in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was politically motivated and untrue.
“It seems the report is completely political and a political statement directed towards Syria,” Mahdi Dakhl-Allah told al-Jazeera, in the first comment by a Syrian minister on the findings.
Damning Report
U.N. report: Syria involved in Hariri death / Roee Nahmias
U.N. investigation report into assassination of former Lebanese prime minister says there exists 'converging evidence' of both Syrian and Lebanese involvement in killing, crime had been prepared over course of several months
“The report is far from the truth. It was not professional and will not arrive at the truth but will be part of a deception and great tension in this region,” he said.
“The investigation must not be political, but should be professional and based on evidence, not hearsay. The report and these accusations are dangerous and will have huge political impact,” he added.
Was President Lahoud involved?
The U.N. Report, released on Thursday, also implicated Syria’s Lebanese allies and cast suspicion on Lebanese President Emile Lahoud. U.N. investigators reported on Thursday that a suspect had called Lahoud minutes before a truck bomb killed Hariri and 20 other people in Beirut in February.
Meanwhile, the presidential office rejected the charges Friday, saying Lahoud had no contact with a suspect named by the investigative team.
“The press office in the presidential palace categorically denies this information, which has no basis in truth and is a part of pressure campaigns against the president,” It said in a statement.
'Popular Front in Lebanon involved'
According to the report, the Popular Front – General Command group in Lebanon was involved in the assassination of al-Hariri, the international investigative team’s report says.The group’s leader, Ahmed Jibril, rejected the charges, as did another senior figure in the organization in an interview with al-Jazeera
Investigators also presented evidence that the brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Maj. Gen. Asef Shawkat, could have figured in the plot, setting up known militant Ahmed Abu Adass as a decoy by forcing him to tape a video claiming responsibility for the murder weeks before it took place.
The report said the Syrian authorities, after initially hesitating to help, had cooperated “to a limited degree.” But several individuals had tried to mislead investigators “by giving false or inaccurate statements”, it said.
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