BEIRUT: In his third subsequent day of testimony, Gary Platt described the surveillance of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri that the prosecution claims played an integral role in plotting his 2005 assassination. As in his previous appearances before the trial chamber, Platt’s evidence focused on call data from cellphones attributed to the five defendants in the case. Platt is an expert in covert cellular networks and has testified several times on the call records that are fundamental to the prosecution’s case. The call records have been used to track the movements of several groups of phones organized by color according to their role in the conspiracy.
Thursday’s evidence primarily dealt with the so-called “blue network,” allegedly tasked with surveillance of the former Prime Minister’s movements in the months leading up to the bomb attack that killed him and 21 others. According to Platt, Oct. 20, 2004, marked the beginning of this network’s “direct” surveillance activity.
Platt noted however that these individuals, including one of the five defendants Salim Ayyash, were not yet actively following Hariri at that time but were in what he termed a “scoping phase.”
“You’d first need to figure out suitable places to conduct surveillance from, exits used by the target and his modes of transportation,” Platt said. He highlighted an instance where Hariri left his residence to visit Marwan Hamadeh, a confidant, who was recovering from an assassination attempt. “There was no attempt to follow Hariri’s convoy to the Hamadeh residence,” he said.
Throughout the course of Thursday’s testimony, Platt described surveillance tactics consistent with the presence of several “blue network” phones in the immediate vicinity of Prime Minister Hariri’s residence.
Platt also pointed out a connection between the surveillance network and Ayyash. On several occasions, when the phone numbers used by the surveillance team returned to southern Beirut from Hariri’s residence, they immediately made contact with Ayyash – allegedly to schedule a meeting, according to Platt.
Platt also detailed the geographic spread of the blue network’s surveillance activities, especially in the area around Parliament in Downtown Beirut. He noted that on Nov. 4 – the first day during the period in question in which Hariri traveled to Parliament – members of the blue network were also in that part of the city.
According to the prosecution, this was also the first instance in which phones in the blue network had appeared in that area.
Thursday’s evidence primarily dealt with the so-called “blue network,” allegedly tasked with surveillance of the former Prime Minister’s movements in the months leading up to the bomb attack that killed him and 21 others. According to Platt, Oct. 20, 2004, marked the beginning of this network’s “direct” surveillance activity.
Platt noted however that these individuals, including one of the five defendants Salim Ayyash, were not yet actively following Hariri at that time but were in what he termed a “scoping phase.”
“You’d first need to figure out suitable places to conduct surveillance from, exits used by the target and his modes of transportation,” Platt said. He highlighted an instance where Hariri left his residence to visit Marwan Hamadeh, a confidant, who was recovering from an assassination attempt. “There was no attempt to follow Hariri’s convoy to the Hamadeh residence,” he said.
Throughout the course of Thursday’s testimony, Platt described surveillance tactics consistent with the presence of several “blue network” phones in the immediate vicinity of Prime Minister Hariri’s residence.
Platt also pointed out a connection between the surveillance network and Ayyash. On several occasions, when the phone numbers used by the surveillance team returned to southern Beirut from Hariri’s residence, they immediately made contact with Ayyash – allegedly to schedule a meeting, according to Platt.
Platt also detailed the geographic spread of the blue network’s surveillance activities, especially in the area around Parliament in Downtown Beirut. He noted that on Nov. 4 – the first day during the period in question in which Hariri traveled to Parliament – members of the blue network were also in that part of the city.
According to the prosecution, this was also the first instance in which phones in the blue network had appeared in that area.
Source & Link : The Daily Star
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