August 16, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Cabinet to address STL false testimonies, says source

An anonymous source told Kuwaiti newspaper An-Nahar in an interview published on Monday that the issue of witnesses who gave false testimonies in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will be one of the primary matters to be discussed during Wednesday’s cabinet session.

The source said that during the cabinet session, Hezbollah ministers will propose to discuss the false testimonies issue and the need to pursue and trial them.

In April 2009 the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) ordered the release due to lack of evidence of four generals who had been detained since 2005 on suspicion of involvement in former PM Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

In July 2010, the STL heard a request by Brigadier General Jamil as-Sayyed, one of the four detainees, for documents related to his imprisonment. Sayyed claims he is the victim of false witnesses.

Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah earlier this month said he doubted the tribunal’s credibility and called for forming a Lebanese commission to investigate alleged false witnesses used in the STL’s investigation into the Hariri assassination.