Hizbullah denies involvement in Hariri's death
Shiite organization rejects Der Spiegel report that UN investigation found Hizbullah responsible for assassination, saying accusations meant to influence outcome of upcoming general elections in Lebanon
Hizbullah officials rejected Sunday claims that the organization was behind the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, saying the accusations were "foolish, false and fabricated" and meant to influence the upcoming parliamentary elections in Lebanon.
German daily Der Spiegel reported Saturday that the United Nations investigation into the assassination pointed to Hizbullah as the culprit.
According to Der Spiegel the special UN tribunal has been in possession of the incriminating evidence for some time now but has so far elected to keep it from the public.
Members of the Shiite organization told Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anbaa that whoever leaked the information to the German paper was seeking to weaken Hizbullah ahead of the elections.
Hariri was killed in 2005 when a bomb was detonated outside a Beirut hotel as his motorcade was passing by. Initial speculation centered heavily on Syria, whose grip on Lebanon Hariri vehemently opposed. Accusations were also hurled towards al-Qaeda, Iran and Israel.
An international investigation which began in 2005, and was authorized by the UN, concluded that Syrian forces working with Lebanese officials were behind the bombing. This led to the arrest of four suspects, but the investigative team failed to provide any concrete evidence that linked them to the assassination.
