Ya Libnan

Interior Minister: Only Mirza can order arrests of STL indictees

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Lebanese Minister of Interior and Municipalities Marwan Charbel told NBN TV on Sunday that the cabinet cannot order the arrest of those indicted by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), adding that the final authority in the issue belongs to State Prosecutor Judge Said Mirza Said Mirza.

The cabinet will not interfere in Mirza’s work, Charbel told NBN, adding that the government “is in politics and not security.”

The judiciary has the final authority over giving the order to arrest anyone, Charbel also said.

STL confirmed the indictments in the assassination of Lebanon’s former PM Hariri on June 30. An STL delegation met with Judge 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 during a speech on July 2 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.

“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

Earlier on Sunday STL announced that INTERPOL had already circulated the arrest warrants for the four Hezbollah suspects in the bombing.

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6 responses to “Interior Minister: Only Mirza can order arrests of STL indictees”

  1. 5thDrawer Avatar
    5thDrawer

    Wow .. nice pic … there’s a happy friendly face … wonder how the municipalities are doing?

  2. Avatar
    Anonymous

    Wow .. there’s a happy friendly face …. 

  3. leb_expatriate Avatar
    leb_expatriate

    It seems that in Lebanon rules are made up on the fly or officials who hold positions of authority aren’t fully aware of their powers or sometimes stretch their authority to infringe on that of the other. Politics is one big circus in Lebanon.

    I say enough time wasting. Either arms for none or arms for all. Who gave Hezbollah monopoly over the resistance. If Hezbollah wants to use resisting Israel as an excuse to stockpile arms then every other party in Lebanon can acquire arms under that same pretext. Only arms can deter arms not dialogue. Your kidding yourself if you think Hezbollah will give up their arms through dialogue.

    Lebanon is inhabited in such a way that each of the major sects control a sea port and the ability to acquire weapons.

    If Nasrallah wants to drive Lebanon into the abyss he will do it at his own peril. Nasrallah you epitomise the evil doers often depicted in stories of good versus evil.

    Nasrallah do you think Iran is the only country that can flood Lebanon with weapons? If other countries want to interfere and supply their patrons in Lebanon with weapons they can do it without hesitation? Is this what you want? Stop your arrogance. You have served this country well in the past don’t let it go to waste in the eyes of the Lebanese.

    1. 5thDrawer Avatar
      5thDrawer

      Maybe it takes ‘the people’ to gather as they do in Syria and demand change as they did with the rage for Hariri’s death to get rid of the Syrian army. Too bad they didn’t get Syrian influence out at the same time … but perhaps now is the time for peaceful demonstrations to begin again in Lebanon, to demand a working representative government for ALL and to stop the constant fear and degradation that exists. 
       Demonstrate FOR something new and democratic; not negative and against any one bunch, but positive in tone and concept. Should not need the guns for that … hmmm … although I’m sure there’s a few like Assad who wouldn’t hesitate to use them. But Lebanon is not a ‘one family’ pack of despotic rulers. It’s two! Perhaps the peasants on each side want to see positive moves and thoughts for a change … and something they don’t need to blame Israel for all the time.

  4. Avatar
    Anonymous

    It seems that in Lebanon rules are made up on the fly or officials who hold positions of authority aren’t fully aware of their powers or sometimes stretch their authority to infringe on that of the other. Politics is one big circus in Lebanon.

    I say enough time wasting. Either arms for none or arms for all. Who gave Hezbollah monopoly over the resistance. If Hezbollah wants to use resisting Israel as an excuse to stockpile arms then every other party in Lebanon can acquire arms under that same pretext. Only arms can deter arms not dialogue. Your kidding yourself if you think Hezbollah will give up their arms through dialogue.

    Lebanon is inhabited in such a way that each of the major sects control a sea port and the ability to acquire weapons.

    If Nasrallah wants to drive Lebanon into the abyss he will do it at his own peril. Nasrallah you epitomise the evil doers often depicted in stories of good versus evil.

    Nasrallah do you think Iran is the only country that can flood Lebanon with weapons? If other countries want to interfere and supply their patrons in Lebanon with weapons they can do it without hesitation? Is this what you want? Stop your arrogance. You have served this country well in the past don’t let it go to waste in the eyes of the Lebanese.

    1. Avatar
      Anonymous

      Maybe it takes ‘the people’ to gather as they do in Syria and demand change as they did with the rage for Hariri’s death to get rid of the Syrian army. Too bad they didn’t get Syrian influence out at the same time … but perhaps now is the time for peaceful demonstrations to begin again in Lebanon, to demand a working representative government for ALL and to stop the constant fear and degradation that exists. 
       Demonstrate FOR something new and democratic; not negative and against any one bunch, but positive in tone and concept. Should not need the guns for that … hmmm … although I’m sure there’s a few like Assad who wouldn’t hesitate to use them. But Lebanon is not a ‘one family’ pack of despotic rulers. It’s two! Perhaps the peasants on each side want to see positive moves and thoughts for a change … and something they don’t need to blame Israel for all the time.

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