New twist in the Hariri investigation: case against Syria collapsing
Today, South African news source news24.com carried a detailed story about how the main witness relied upon in the Mehlis report has retracted his testimony. The story divulged numerous details of how the man had been persuaded to give false testimony thanks to a generous bribe offered by Hariri's son Saad. However, at present news24.com either is no longer carrying the story or the website is being overwhelmed by hits. In the meantime, until the story is once again available on news24.com, I offer this link to the New York Times version, as well as, reproduced below, a shorter variant of the same report from Arabic News:
Syrian masked witness to UN investigation retracts his testimony
Syria-Lebanon-UN, Politics, 11/29/2005
A Syrian witness, known as the "masked witness", that
gave testimony to the UN investigation team into the killing of former
Lebanese Premier Rafiq al-Hariri has retracted on Sunday his testimony
as baseless and untrue.
"All what I had said to the UN investigation committee is "untrue and
baseless," the masked witness Husam Taher Husam said in an interview
broadcast by the Syrian TV, stressing that all testimonies he offered
were imposed on him "by force and threats, pressures and torture." UN
investigator Chief Detlev Mehlis has considered Husam as "the main
witness" in his report to prove Syrian and Lebanese intelligence
involvement in the assassination of Hariri.
Husam claimed that Walid Jumblat and Marwan Hmadeh had a role in
fabricating lies of the witness Zoheir al-Sedeq by handing him a large
sum of money and assuring him the needed protection at one of the Arab
embassies.
"Syria and the four Lebanese arrested officers are innocent from the
assassination crime," Husam stressed, unveiling that Saad al-Hariri,
and his two advisors Fares Khashan and Ghattas Khouri, in addition to
Lebanese politicians and press men instructed and obliged him to give a
"perjury" on an alleged role for Syria in the assassination.
Regarding the booby-trapped Mitsubishi car, he said "They instructed me
to say that it was trapped in Syria, and then brought it to the 10th
division in Qatana .., after that, the explosives were transported by
ambulance to Lebanon where the car disappeared in the Bekaa for 15
days," Husam said. He added "I was demanded to claim that I saw the car
in Hammana (town) in Feb 11,12,13,14 where it moved to Beirut heading
to the crime place."
On explosives used in the crime and their kind, Husam emphasized "Head
of information branch in Lebanon major Samir, with the attendance of
Fares Khashan, brought me the explosives, claiming they came from
Syria, but in fact they came from the Lebanese government."
"They asked me to testify that President Bashar al-Assad had threatened Hariri but I refused," the witness stressed.
"In Monte Verde Hotel, I have met with Mai Shedyaq and the French
ambassador in Lebanon twice, Jubran Tueni, Marwan Hmadeh, Walid
Jumblat," Hassam said, describing Tueni, Hamadeh and Jumblat as of
"dead conscience...Those are responsible for bringing false witnesses.
Tueni's main goal is to involve Hizbollah by any way." "The
investigation process is a dirty play aiming at involving Syria, Iran
and Hizbullah and the implementation of the UN 1559 resolution... they
want to topple the ruling regime in our country... they want Syria to
kneel to the USA" Husam said, stressing that "Hariri inheritors are
those who killed him... they are well trained and want to involve a
number of Syrian and Lebanese officials in any way." The witness said
he refused to take money from Hariri men and to talk to the US
intelligent service CIA and FBI.
He asserted that the Syrians "colonel Maher al-Assad and Gen. Asef
Shawkat are targeted by those malignant claiming that they are behind
the crime."
" If I dropped my testimony, Mehlis report will shrink to five pages
only... I am ready to testify in hundred international courts." The
masked witness concluded.
Meantime, the car of the 'masked witness' Husam Taher Husam was found
Monday parking near the Lebanese Customs Department at al-Massnaa
border point.
The Lebanese National News Agency said the car is Toyota, green color
with a plate No. 65533 M Model 2006. It added the car is rented from
'Jalal Company for Car Rentals' from 05-30 November 2005, and one of
the items of the contract states that Husam doesn't have a driving
license.
The source said a unit of the Lebanese judicial and criminal police
collected the fingerprints off the car which has been taken away to the
headquarters of the internal security forces in Bekaa, Lebanon.
