Four Officers to Be Released

Azouri to Al-Manar: Four Officers to Be Released Soon

The former general security chief Jamil As-Sayyed's attorney, lawyer Akram Azouri, announced on Thursday that "the four officers' release is only a matter of time and will inevitably take place in the coming weeks."

The four detained security officials are: Jamil Sayyed of the Surete Generale, Mustafa Hamdan of the Presidential Guard Brigade, Raymond Azar of the army's Intelligence Service and Ali Hajj of the Internal Security Forces. They have been arbitrarily detained without charges since 2005, based on the false testimony of the so-called "king witness" Mohamed Zuhair Siddiq.
 
Speaking to Al-Manar, Azouri emphasized that there was a political exploitation of the technical process of transferring the officials to the Hague. "Even if the officers are transferred to The Hague, this measure will be an administrative one only, without its acquiring any political meaning," he pointed out.
 
As-Sayyed's attorney, meanwhile, noted that he hasn't directly met with As-Sayyed without a supervisor since three full years, noting that this was a violation of the law.
 
NAJJAR TO TRIBUNAL: LEBANON AWAITS JUSTICE FROM YOU
Meanwhile, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar announced on Thursday that Lebanon will fully cooperate with the UN tribunal set up to try suspects in the killing of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and is confident the truth will prevail.
  
"No one in Lebanon would understand that a criminal, whose liability or culpability is established, is not to be punished, wherever he might be, whoever he might be," Najjar told reporters, reading from an open letter he has addressed to The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon set to start work on Sunday.
  
He said that given the breadth of the court's mandate, its independence and its integrity, it was unlikely that the reasons behind Hariri's 2005 killing in a massive car bomb would remain a mystery. "As of Sunday, a denial of justice, a lack of charges, a delay in the publication of the accusation act from your side, seems to be impossible," the minister said.
 
"Lebanon awaits justice from you," Najjar said in the letter addressed to the tribunal which will start operating on Sunday. "Our future depends on the battle you wage in the face of crime and the lack of consciousness that threatens regional and international peace," Najjar added