Now Lebanon - Zahra: March 8 statements aim to bring down STL - September 18, 2010

Lebanese Forces bloc MP Antoine Zahra said that the statements of March 8 coalition figures aim to bring down the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and the legitimate constitutional Lebanese institutions, according to a statement issued by the MP’s office on Saturday.

Hezbollah stands behind former General Security chief Jamil as-Sayyed’s statements, Zahra said, adding that “they are the ones trying to quell the institutions’ [work].”

His comment comes in response to Hezbollah’s Friday statement that Attorney General Judge Said Mirza’s request to summon Sayyed was “political par excellence.”

The former General Security chief said on Sunday that “[PM Saad Hariri] should take a lie detector test to prove he did not support or fund false witnesses in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL),” the court investigating the 2005 assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri. Sayyed also vowed to take his rights “with his own hands.”

Sayyed 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.

Those who seek to cause tension in the country to make everyone know that they are above the law are carrying out a coup, Zahra added.