ILoubnan - Hezbollah's support to Jamil Sayyed exacerbates tension in Lebanon - September 18, 2010

BEIRUT | September 18, 2010
Former Lebanese general Jamil Sayyed, who has been summoned by prosecutor Said Mirza for threatening remarks made against Prime Minister Saad Hariri was on Saturday under th protection by opposition group Hezbollah and its christian ally Free Patriotic Movement.

Jamil Sayyed was detained for four years on suspicions of involvement in the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik. He was released in 2009 when the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) ordered his release due to lack of evidence.

Sayyed said that the testimony that sent him in detention was made by a false witness. Last week, he publicly threatened current Prime Minister Saad Hariri in a press conference held in Paris. "I will not remain silent until justice is made...' Sayyed said, accusing Hariri of paying for the testimony that sent him to jail. 'False witnesses must be held accountable under the law, or we shall settle the score against them in the street,' Sayyed warned.

Those remarks, including one to take justice 'with his own hands' if Hariri did not admit to his alleged crimes, prompted Lebanese prosecutor Said Mirza on Thursday to summon Sayyed for questioning regarding threats to Hariri and state security. When Sayyed arrived at Beirut's international airport on Saturday, he was greeted by Hezbollah lawmakers and officials, who escorted him to prevent anyone from arresting him. Hezbollah issued a statement on Friday saying that Mirza's request to summon Sayyed was 'political,' calling for a reversal of the judiciary's decision to summon Sayyed for questioning. 'Hezbollah fully supports Sayyed,' the statement said, adding that 'any move to take legal action against Sayyed will cause chaos in the country.' Hezbollah's MP Hassan Fadlallah said Saturday that 'no one is capable of putting Sayyed in prison.'

Some observers believe that the situation in Lebanon is critical and similar to the atmosphere that prevailed in May 2008, when gunmen of a Hezbollah-led alliance occupied the Sunni part of Beirut, to protest a decision by the Western-backed government to dismantle the movement's special telecommunications network.