Now Lebanon - Sayyed arrives to Beirut, continues his accusations - September 18, 2010

During a press conference held Saturday at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport upon his return from Paris, former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed said that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and its pending indictment will not be trustworthy until former International Investigation Commissioner Detlev Mehlis, Mehlis’s assistant, Gerhard Lehmann, Internal Security Forces (ISF) Director General Achraf Rifi, ISF-Information Branch head Wissam al-Hassan and Attorney General Judge Said Mirza are imprisoned in the Hague or Lebanon.

The STL will also not be trusted until the Lebanese public and Sunnis as well as the Arabs learn why there was a conspiracy of false witnesses who gave fake testimonies on the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, he said, asking why PM Saad Hariri and the March 14 alliance used the false witnesses to take over the government.

The issue of false witnesses will not end until Hariri punishes the responsible criminals, Sayyed also said, adding that the March 14 alliance destroyed relations with Syria and “killed, jailed and abused the Lebanese” due to the false witnesses.

The former General Security chief said that the March 8 coalition is working to support Lebanese laws and justice, and not planning a coup against the government.

However, he added that preventing the punishment of the false witnesses will force the March 8 coalition take to the streets to penalize the witnesses.

Addressing Hariri, Sayyed said “I was accused [by one of your allies] of asking you for money. I see you as a normal person. I [do not care] for your money, or your father’s.”

Following Sayyed’s Sunday press conference—in which he criticized Hariri and described numerous figures as counterfeiters—Lebanon First bloc MP Okab Sakr said that Sayyed requested a $15 million settlement from Hariri to drop his lawsuit that he filed in Damascus in December 2009 against Lebanese and Syrian public figures for slander, falsifying testimonies and depriving him of his freedom.

“I believe in security bodies, but I do not believe in Rifi or Hasan. I believe in the judiciary, but I do not believe in Mirza,” Sayyed said.

He called on Hariri to “jail Melhis and his accomplices,” adding that the PM would be an accessory to the crimes of the false witnesses if he does not do so.

The ex-General Security chief was detained from 2005 to 2009 on suspicion of involvement in the Rafik Hariri murder. In April 2009, the STL ordered his release due to lack of evidence.

-NOW Lebanon