Daily Star - Intruders strike home of judge tied to Hariri court - again, April 23, 2008

By Hussein Abdallah Daily Star staff

Justice Minister Charles Rizk said on Tuesday that veteran Judge Ralph Riachi's home in Al-Douwar, Mount Lebanon, had been vandalized by unknown individuals late Sunday in an apparent attempt to intimidate the jurist. Riachi is one of two judges assigned by the Lebanese government to cooperate with United Nations officials in setting up the international tribunal to try suspects in former Premier Rafik Hariri's murder.
The vandals reportedly broke into Riachi's house and shattered most of its furniture without stealing anything, as none of the house's contents were reported missing.
Well-informed sources told The Daily Star that the vandals wrecked some closets in what seemed to be an attempt to find a specific item. Fingerprints were lifted from the crime scene, the sources added.
Speaking to reporters after meeting Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfeir on Tuesday, Rizk urged UN chief Ban Ki-moon to speed up the appointment of Canadian Judge Daniel Bellemare as prosecutor general on the tribunal in a bid to protect the Lebanese judges by exempting them from their current duties.
Bellemare, the chief investigator on the Hariri murder case, has yet to be appointed as prosecutor general.
Rizk argued that delaying the appointment was putting the lives of Riachi and other Lebanese judges at risk. "What are we waiting for? Does a Lebanese judge have to get killed before Bellemare takes full charge of the case?" Rizk asked.
Judicial sources said that Riachi's house had been invaded twice in less than a year.