BEIRUT, 14 August 2005 — The former chief of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon and two other senior officers have been questioned in connection with the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a report said yesterday.
Rustom Ghazali and the two other Syrian officers were sent written questions by the UN commission of inquiry probing Hariri’s death in a February bomb blast - to which the trio also replied in writing, the As-Safir daily reported.
The newspaper, which did not cite its sources, said the questioning took place with the agreement of Syria to “facilitate the work” of the commission of inquiry. The questions were sent through Syria’s mission at the United Nations.
The head of the inquiry, the German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, sent questions to the former heads of Syrian intelligence in Beirut Mohammed Makhluf and Jamaa Jamaa as well as Ghazali.
The murder of Hariri, which sparked popular protests that led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in April, was blamed by anti-Damascus politicians on Syria and its allies in the former Beirut government. Syria has vehemently denied any involvement.
According to the Arab newspaper Al-Hayat, the three men were questioned as “witnesses” owing to their presence on Lebanese soil when Hariri was assassinated on Feb. 14 in the powerful blast that killed 19 others.
Mehlis has to present the UN Security Council with a report on the progress of the inquiry before Sept. 15, the date when the three month period allotted for the probe comes to an end.
But he has the right to ask for a renewal of his mandate for another three months and Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora has said the commission will need a “short additional period” in which to finish its work.
Mehlis has interviewed more than 110 witnesses, including former presidential guard commander Gen. Mustafa Hamdan, who was criticized for destroying evidence at the scene of the crime.
Last month, an unauthorized interview with Mehlis named Hamdan as a suspect in the killing. Mehlis’ spokesman Nejib Friji said that Mehlis is to report to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Aug. 25 about the bomb explosion.
