Daily Star - Nasrallah backs release of former security chiefs after meeting lawyers, November 01, 2007
Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called for the release of the four officers suspected of involvement in the slaying of former Premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005, saying the matter of their release was now a legal and moral issue, not a political one. He made his comments after meeting the lawyers representing the four officers Wednesday. "The continued detention of the four officers without legal proof has turned them into political prisoners against whom a policy of revenge is being practiced, far removed from the concept of justice and judicial independence," Nasrallah said. He called for their "prompt release" as the judiciary had not provided any evidence for their continued detention, adding that this human tragedy needs to end for the sake of the officers' families. He called on the judiciary and concerned officials to listen to their conscience as they would be held responsible before God and the people. Nasrallah said such practices "not only harm the integrity and objectivity of the judiciary but also shake people's confidence in their judicial authority." Nasrallah met with lawyers Issam Karam, Naji Boustani, Akram Azoury and Youssef Fenianos representing the four former security chiefs who have been detained for over two years. The lawyers discussed with Nasrallah the steps taken in the Lebanese judiciary so far and by the UN international investigation commission, and that the result had come out in favor of the officers, which obliged authorities to order their immediate release. The lawyers told Nasrallah that only the political decision to set the officers free remained.
Hizbullah secretary general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called for the release of the four officers suspected of involvement in the slaying of former Premier Rafik Hariri in February 2005, saying the matter of their release was now a legal and moral issue, not a political one. He made his comments after meeting the lawyers representing the four officers Wednesday. "The continued detention of the four officers without legal proof has turned them into political prisoners against whom a policy of revenge is being practiced, far removed from the concept of justice and judicial independence," Nasrallah said. He called for their "prompt release" as the judiciary had not provided any evidence for their continued detention, adding that this human tragedy needs to end for the sake of the officers' families. He called on the judiciary and concerned officials to listen to their conscience as they would be held responsible before God and the people. Nasrallah said such practices "not only harm the integrity and objectivity of the judiciary but also shake people's confidence in their judicial authority." Nasrallah met with lawyers Issam Karam, Naji Boustani, Akram Azoury and Youssef Fenianos representing the four former security chiefs who have been detained for over two years. The lawyers discussed with Nasrallah the steps taken in the Lebanese judiciary so far and by the UN international investigation commission, and that the result had come out in favor of the officers, which obliged authorities to order their immediate release. The lawyers told Nasrallah that only the political decision to set the officers free remained.
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