July 14, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Sayyed seeks access to secret files relating to arrest

LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands: A former Lebanese Army general asked an international court on Tuesday to release his secret case file on the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to learn why he had been jailed for nearly four years without charge.

The hearing by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the first since Major General Jamil Sayyed, the former chief of general security, and three other army officers, were freed from a Lebanese jail for lack of evidence in April 2009.

Despite being limited to procedural issues, the hearing revived attention to a case that has been languishing. No other suspects are in custody and prosecutors won’t say how their investigation is progressing.

The four officers were detained for six months after Hariri and 22 others died in a massive truck bomb explosion in Beirut, and suspicion fell on Syria and its Lebanese allies.


Since the release of the four suspects, investigators have interviewed members of Hizbullah, possibly exploring links to broader Middle East rivalries.


Syria and Hizbullah have both denied any involvement in the bombing.


Addressing the pre-trial judge in Arabic, Sayyed said his detention was based on false statements and he wants to seek a “legal remedy” against those responsible, which he said can only be done if he has access to the prosecution’s case file.


He said he had applied more than 100 times to the tribunal and to the Lebanese authorities for access to his file, but was never allowed to see any of it.



“We fall into a legal vacuum, a procedural vacuum,” he told Judge Daniel Fransen.


Sayyed, speaking after his attorney laid out legal arguments that the court has jurisdiction to order the case file released, said his detention was based on statements from at least 10 witnesses, some of them Syrian nationals.


Perjury from one person could be a mistake, he said. But “this was truly a large-scale plot” and he said it was important to uncover the reasons behind it.


Prosecutors objected, saying the tribunal has no authority to deal with Sayyed’s demand since its mandate is limited to prosecuting those responsible for the February 14, 2005, bombing and “to bring terrorists to justice.” “International courts have narrow jurisdiction for a reason,” said prosecutor Daryl Mundis.


In addition, he said Sayyed has no right to turn to the tribunal since he is no longer a party to the case.


In its earlier written submission, the prosecution said: “The investigation is still ongoing. The prosecutor has not filed an indictment. Without an indictment, there is no accused.” Fransen said he would make his decision in early September.


The tribunal, set up by the UN Security Council in 2007, consists of seven foreign and four Lebanese judges, and is grounded in Lebanese law. – AP