Hezbollah refused to meet with Roux over defending its members

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Al-Hayat newspaper sources reported on Sunday that Hezbollah rejected a suggestion to hold a meeting with the head of the Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Francois Roux aimed at studying the possibility of confronting the indictment.

Al-Hayat sources explained that the meeting would have explained to the party leadership the seriousness of the Defense’s work, as well as the possibility of overturning the accusations against Hezbollah members indicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The sources added that the meeting would have demonstrated to Hezbollah that Roux is serious in his mission in defending the accused, pointing out that he had also enlisted the help of prominent lawyers to assist him in his mission.

The sources revealed that the suggestion by Roux was made way before the indictment in the STL was issued .

STL confirmed the indictments in the assassination of Lebanon’s former PM Hariri on June 30. An STL delegation met with Lebanon’s state prosecutor Said Mirza and handed him a copy of the Lebanon portion of the indictment and the arrest warrants. Two of the suspects Mustafa Badreddine and Salim Ayyash are reportedly senior members of the Iranian and Syrian-backed Hezbollah while the other two Hezbollah members Hassan Aneissy, also known as Hassan Issa, and Assad Sabra played a supporting role in the execution of the assassination.

Lebanon has 30 days to find and arrest the suspects but Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah said Saturday that the party would not cooperate with the tribunal.

“No Lebanese government will be able to carry out any arrests whether in 30 days, 30 years or even 300 years.”

“We reject the Special Tribunal for Lebanon along with each and every void accusation it issues, which to us is the equivalent of an attack against Hezbollah,” Nasrallah added in his hour-long speech.

Nasrallah admitted all the four suspects are Hezbollah members:

“The suspects named in the indictment are brothers who have an honorable history in resisting Israeli occupation.” He said

The whereabouts of the four remain unknown but a report yesterday indicated that they are no longer in Lebanon and one of them has already been killed. No details were available on who got killed and by whom and the country they fled too. A report last week indicated that the 2 senior Hezbollah members are already in Tehran.

Professor Ghassan Karam commented about Nasrallah’s defiance in an article in Ya Libnan: ” Nasrallah has acted as judge, jury and executioner. He has determined that his people are not guilty and that no one should dream of arresting any of them”.

“My only advice to those charged is that they should consult a lawyer as soon as possible…Now is the time for defense.” Roux, the head of the Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said last week in addressing the four Hezbollah members who were indicted in the 2005 assassination of the former Lebanese PM

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Comments

22 responses to “Hezbollah refused to meet with Roux over defending its members”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Nasrallah sinks lower and lower … 

    1. Amine123 Avatar
      Amine123

      He gave the orders, why he should cooperate? he is as guilty as those murderers

    2. Amine123 Avatar
      Amine123

      He gave the orders, why he should cooperate? he is as guilty as those murderers

  2.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    Nasrallah sinks lower and lower … 

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      He gave the orders, why he should cooperate? he is as guilty as those murderers

  3. sadly this group does not give a damn about the damage this behavior does to lebanons image and tourisum industry. i have to be honest that after being absent from lebanon for 34 years i went back a year ago with my  candian/american wife and althoug i was thrilled to no end to find long lost friends and cousins  i realized that lebanon isbeautiful but very expensive in many aspects for visitors and locals and it appears that the majority of the business side of it is restaurants and night clubs  as i dont see a whole lot of manufacturing or export going on. my point is that i dont see how local afford to live without spenders from other countries who really have many other options for their vacation without worring about all this static and fear of additional episodes the untouchables may yet bring. i  love kenafee but i think barcelona or amalfi is looking good for my next get away.

    1. Fadi81 Avatar

      Agree! My trip last year was amazing! I had a great time with my cousins eating, celebrating, touring, and of course clubing! I went back to the madrasseh in Rmeil I lived in during the war years, still the same and Abou Jirius is still the “gate keeper” after all these years lol! I spent so much money that summer and didnt think twice about it. I was determined to take my new bride with me this summer, but the situation with this govt and Syria….I decided to hold off. Im sure there are many who made the same decision and it will definetly affect the local business’…Its a shame really, im so proud of my country and yet so disgusted with the criminals controlling it.
      We can only pray for a positive future for Lebanon and the Lebanese that remain at the front lines….

      1. 5thDrawer Avatar
        5thDrawer

        There are a lot of good Lebanese restaurants in other countries it seems.

        1. master09 Avatar
          master09

          Myself and 10 others had a trip organised to Lebanon but did not go because of this situation. Only two went to sell the land they have and wipe the hand from Lebanon.They said Lebanon will be lost we must move on.
          What a shame the Lebanese have no heart for Lebanon anymore. 

    2. Fadi81 Avatar

      Agree! My trip last year was amazing! I had a great time with my cousins eating, celebrating, touring, and of course clubing! I went back to the madrasseh in Rmeil I lived in during the war years, still the same and Abou Jirius is still the “gate keeper” after all these years lol! I spent so much money that summer and didnt think twice about it. I was determined to take my new bride with me this summer, but the situation with this govt and Syria….I decided to hold off. Im sure there are many who made the same decision and it will definetly affect the local business’…Its a shame really, im so proud of my country and yet so disgusted with the criminals controlling it.
      We can only pray for a positive future for Lebanon and the Lebanese that remain at the front lines….

  4. sadly this group does not give a damn about the damage this behavior does to lebanons image and tourisum industry. i have to be honest that after being absent from lebanon for 34 years i went back a year ago with my  candian/american wife and althoug i was thrilled to no end to find long lost friends and cousins  i realized that lebanon isbeautiful but very expensive in many aspects for visitors and locals and it appears that the majority of the business side of it is restaurants and night clubs  as i dont see a whole lot of manufacturing or export going on. my point is that i dont see how local afford to live without spenders from other countries who really have many other options for their vacation without worring about all this static and fear of additional episodes the untouchables may yet bring. i  love kenafee but i think barcelona or amalfi is looking good for my next get away.

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Agree! My trip last year was amazing! I had a great time with my cousins eating, celebrating, touring, and of course clubing! I went back to the madrasseh in Rmeil I lived in during the war years, still the same and Abou Jirius is still the “gate keeper” after all these years lol! I spent so much money that summer and didnt think twice about it. I was determined to take my new bride with me this summer, but the situation with this govt and Syria….I decided to hold off. Im sure there are many who made the same decision and it will definetly affect the local business’…Its a shame really, im so proud of my country and yet so disgusted with the criminals controlling it.
      We can only pray for a positive future for Lebanon and the Lebanese that remain at the front lines….

      1.  Avatar
        Anonymous

        There are a lot of good Lebanese restaurants in other countries it seems.

        1.  Avatar
          Anonymous

          Myself and 10 others had a trip organised to Lebanon but did not go because of this situation. Only two went to sell the land they have and wipe the hand from Lebanon.They said Lebanon will be lost we must move on.
          What a shame the Lebanese have no heart for Lebanon anymore. 

  5. antar2011 Avatar
    antar2011

    lol yes…just watch a program on Future news yesterday….one of the episode was online lebanese websites called “lebanese eat and ..somthing i cannot remember”….members who register have to be lebanese living outside lebanon and they state the best lebanese restaurant they have been to in the country they live…there are also lots of recipes of lebanese dishes that members have access to and add ….seems a good idea and what the person behine the website said exactly what you said here….there are a lot of good lebanese restaurants outside lebanon…
     
    on another note though….lebanon have always relied on tourism and NOT industries domain for finance…

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Except for the time the Lebanese and the Jewish people controlled all the trade in the mediterranean – before Rome filled in the ocean to get to Tyre – a few hundred years of peace and prosperity for many – based on an industry of ‘service’.

  6.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    lol yes…just watch a program on Future news yesterday….one of the episode was online lebanese websites called “lebanese eat and ..somthing i cannot remember”….members who register have to be lebanese living outside lebanon and they state the best lebanese restaurant they have been to in the country they live…there are also lots of recipes of lebanese dishes that members have access to and add ….seems a good idea and what the person behine the website said exactly what you said here….there are a lot of good lebanese restaurants outside lebanon…
     
    on another note though….lebanon have always relied on tourism and NOT industries domain for finance…

    1.  Avatar
      Anonymous

      Except for the time the Lebanese and the Jewish people controlled all the trade in the mediterranean – before Rome filled in the ocean to get to Tyre – a few hundred years of peace and prosperity for many – based on an industry of ‘service’.

  7. antar2011 Avatar
    antar2011

    i am not suprised, he did announce together with his govt ministers that they are ignoring anything to do with STL…the cowards!

  8.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    i am not suprised, he did announce together with his govt ministers that they are ignoring anything to do with STL…the cowards!

  9. master09 Avatar
    master09

    A high-ranking European official revealed an international and Arab movement to categorize Lebanon as a “rogue state” in the event its official executive and legislative authorities do not cooperate with the international tribunal. He continued by saying that if Lebanon becomes a rogue state, it will be outside international law, and indicated that refusing to arrest the four accused in the indictment means announcing war with the international community, which rejects the politicization of international justice and demands that any person accused, regardless of political affiliation, be brought before the judges in The Hague, where their guilt can be judged.It is expected that Jeffrey Feltman, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, in his visit to Beirut next week, will carry with him a draft resolution that is currently under consideration, and will be introduced in the U.N. Security Council as soon as it becomes clear that the Lebanese authorities are not cooperating with the tribunal. The Cabinet was established for this purpose, but failing to cooperate and apprehend the indicted has created fears of widespread economic repercussions and international backlash..

  10.  Avatar
    Anonymous

    A high-ranking European official revealed an international and Arab movement to categorize Lebanon as a “rogue state” in the event its official executive and legislative authorities do not cooperate with the international tribunal. He continued by saying that if Lebanon becomes a rogue state, it will be outside international law, and indicated that refusing to arrest the four accused in the indictment means announcing war with the international community, which rejects the politicization of international justice and demands that any person accused, regardless of political affiliation, be brought before the judges in The Hague, where their guilt can be judged.It is expected that Jeffrey Feltman, assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, in his visit to Beirut next week, will carry with him a draft resolution that is currently under consideration, and will be introduced in the U.N. Security Council as soon as it becomes clear that the Lebanese authorities are not cooperating with the tribunal. The Cabinet was established for this purpose, but failing to cooperate and apprehend the indicted has created fears of widespread economic repercussions and international backlash..

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