Former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed’s press office issued a statement on Monday criticizing Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar’s report on false witnesses, saying it overlooks important facts.
Najjar is expected to present his report on the issue of false testimonies in the international investigation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination during Tuesday’s cabinet session.
Sayyed was one of the four officials detained in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in Rafik Hariri’s murder and released in 2009 due to lack of evidence.
In his Monday statement, the former General Security chief slammed the way Attorney General Said Mirza and Judges Elias Eid and Sakr Sakr handled the issue of false witnesses, saying that they made illegal concessions to international investigators by not closely investigating the witnesses themselves.
The investigation of false witnesses does not need to wait for the indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) because STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare already named some witnesses on whom his indictment would not rely on, Sayyed said.
The statement added that the tribunal said the investigation of witnesses who gave false testimony before March 2009 is within the Lebanese judiciary’s prerogative.
Sayyed also criticized Najjar’s recommendation that the attorney general’s office take up the case, accusing Najjar of ignoring the fact that Mirza is himself implicated in the case.
Mirza sent all the relevant files to the Hague for “burial” on the pretext that the Lebanese judiciary’s prerogatives have been transferred to the STL, the statement added.
Sayyed also said that Najjar is incorrect in saying the Justice Council does not have the authority to investigate the false witnesses. The Justice Council can take cases related to internal strife and blows to national unity, such as the false witnesses issue, he added.
The cabinet should transfer the case to the Justice Council, disqualify relevant figures for the duration of the investigation, and request the STL to delay its indictment until the issue is resolved, he also said.
-NOW Lebanon
Najjar is expected to present his report on the issue of false testimonies in the international investigation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination during Tuesday’s cabinet session.
Sayyed was one of the four officials detained in 2005 on suspicion of involvement in Rafik Hariri’s murder and released in 2009 due to lack of evidence.
In his Monday statement, the former General Security chief slammed the way Attorney General Said Mirza and Judges Elias Eid and Sakr Sakr handled the issue of false witnesses, saying that they made illegal concessions to international investigators by not closely investigating the witnesses themselves.
The investigation of false witnesses does not need to wait for the indictment of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) because STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare already named some witnesses on whom his indictment would not rely on, Sayyed said.
The statement added that the tribunal said the investigation of witnesses who gave false testimony before March 2009 is within the Lebanese judiciary’s prerogative.
Sayyed also criticized Najjar’s recommendation that the attorney general’s office take up the case, accusing Najjar of ignoring the fact that Mirza is himself implicated in the case.
Mirza sent all the relevant files to the Hague for “burial” on the pretext that the Lebanese judiciary’s prerogatives have been transferred to the STL, the statement added.
Sayyed also said that Najjar is incorrect in saying the Justice Council does not have the authority to investigate the false witnesses. The Justice Council can take cases related to internal strife and blows to national unity, such as the false witnesses issue, he added.
The cabinet should transfer the case to the Justice Council, disqualify relevant figures for the duration of the investigation, and request the STL to delay its indictment until the issue is resolved, he also said.
-NOW Lebanon
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