Israel did it !
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday ruled out the arrest of four members of his militant group indicted by a UN court for the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafik Hariri.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), on Thursday handed Lebanon’s prosecutor general Said Mirza arrest warrants for four members of the Iranian- and Syrian-backed group in connection with the February 14, 2005 bombing that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others in Beirut.
In his first reaction to the charges by the STL, Secretary General Nasrallah also rejected “each and every void accusation” made by the Netherlands-based court, which he said was heading for a trial in absentia.
“We reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon along with each and every void accusation it issues, which to us is equivalent to an attack on Hezbollah,” Mr. Nasrallah said in an hour-long televised speech.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), on Thursday handed Lebanon’s prosecutor general Said Mirza arrest warrants for four members of the Iranian- and Syrian-backed group in connection with the February 14, 2005 bombing that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others in Beirut.
In his first reaction to the charges by the STL, Secretary General Nasrallah also rejected “each and every void accusation” made by the Netherlands-based court, which he said was heading for a trial in absentia.
“We reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon along with each and every void accusation it issues, which to us is equivalent to an attack on Hezbollah,” Mr. Nasrallah said in an hour-long televised speech.
Jihad Watch
Hizballah's head honcho Nasrallah:
Arrests of members indicted in Hariri assassination will never happen
Unfortunately, for as long as Hizballah's country-within-a-country with its own standing army has gone unchallenged in Lebanon and allowed to become ever more entrenched in society and government, there may indeed not be the political will in Lebanon to hold the group accountable.
Arrests of members indicted in Hariri assassination will never happen
Unfortunately, for as long as Hizballah's country-within-a-country with its own standing army has gone unchallenged in Lebanon and allowed to become ever more entrenched in society and government, there may indeed not be the political will in Lebanon to hold the group accountable.
An update on this story. "Hezbollah leader rejects Hariri court indictments," by Dominic Evans for Reuters, July 2 (thanks to all who sent this in):
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Saturday that authorities would never arrest members of the Shi'ite militant group indicted by a U.N.-backed tribunal seeking the killers of statesman Rafik al-Hariri.
In his first comments since the indictments were handed to the state prosecutor on Thursday, Nasrallah dismissed the accusations as unfounded and a failed attempt to sow strife and bring down Lebanon's new Hezbollah-backed government.
He cares about not bringing down this government, unlike the one Hizballah toppled in February to create a diversion from the Hariri case. At that time, Hizballah even staged "coup drills" aimed at intimidating any potential challengers.
The tribunal has not named the suspects but Lebanese officials said they included Mustafa Badreddine, a senior member of the movement and brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, and three other members of the group.
"They cannot find them or arrest them in 30 days or 60 days, or in a year, two years, 30 years or 300 years," Nasrallah said. Under the court proceedings, Lebanese officials have 30 days to make arrests after receiving indictments.
And Hizballah maintains anyway.
Hezbollah, both a Shi'ite Muslim political movement and guerrilla army, denies any role in the huge explosion on the Beirut seafront which killed Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who served several terms as prime minister, and 22 others in February 2005....
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