Le nouveau rapport Brammertz sera prêt le 11 juillet

L'orient le jour - Le nouveau rapport Brammertz sera prêt le 11 juillet, 4 juillet 2007.

NEW YORK, de notre correspondante Sylviane ZEHIL

Dans le cadre d’une conférence de presse hier, le représentant de la Chine Gua Ngya Wang, qui assure, depuis le 1er juillet, la présidence du Conseil de sécurité, a indiqué que le programme du Conseil pour le mois de juillet, qui a été approuvé par les quinze ministres, couvre en très grande partie des questions africaines et moyen-orientales.Le Conseil de sécurité se prépare ainsi à recevoir trois rapports relatifs au Liban durant le mois de juillet : le rapport d’évaluation sur la frontière syro-libanaise sera traduit officiellement et distribué le 10 juillet et discuté le 18 juillet en même temps que le rapport sur la mise en application de la résolution 1701, qui a déjà été distribué vendredi dernier.Par ailleurs, le rapport du chef de la commission d’enquête internationale, Serge Brammertz, sera prêt le 11 juillet et discuté au Conseil de sécurité le 19 juillet au matin. Il y aura un briefing à la presse à cette occasion. M. Brammertz sera à New York le 8 juillet.Interrogé sur le transfert d’armes illicites de Syrie vers le Liban, le président chinois du Conseil de sécurité a affirmé : « Nous attendons l’exposé du secrétaire général. Il existe plusieurs versions sur cette affaire. J’espère que le Conseil de sécurité va se pencher sur cette affaire pour apaiser la situation, qui est particulièrement exacerbée. »Concernant par ailleurs l’extension du mandat de la Finul, cette question n’apparaît pas au programme du Conseil de sécurité pour le mois de juillet. « Nous avons reçu une lettre du Premier ministre en faveur du renouvellement du mandat de la Finul. Nous allons l’étudier », a indiqué le président du Conseil de sécurité.

Court of Appeals to poll views on bid to replace judge in Hariri case

Daily Star, Court of Appeals to poll views on bid to replace judge in Hariri case, July 3, 2007.

BEIRUT: The Court of Appeals is expected to circulate a submitted request to replace the chief of Lebanese investigations into the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri to all parties involved with the case, so that the court can arrive at a final decision on the issue of replacement more promptly, a judicial report said on Monday.
Magistrate Elias Eid was expected to issue a final response to the request on Monday - either by rejecting it or by stepping down - but the final decision on the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals.
Mohammad Mattar, the lawyer for the heirs of four Hariri bodyguards killed in the bombing, filed a request last Wednesday that Eid be replaced, citing Eid's alleged "intention" to release former security officials Raymond Azar and Jamil Sayyed before the conclusion of the investigation.
Mattar also pointed to Eid's "overly friendly relations" with the lawyers and families of the four officers (Sayyed, Azar, Ali al-Hajj and Mustafa Hamdan) charged with involvement in the assassination.
On Monday, attorney Mohammad Haidar from Mattar's office said he was surprised how detained former head of General Security Jamil Sayyed was "so knowledgeable" about the content of "supposedly top secret talks" between chief of the probe committee into the Hariri assassination Serge Brammertz, State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and Eid.
Sayyed, in a statement issued through the office of his attorney Akram Azoury on Sunday, expressed surprise that he was kept in confinement after the UN probe committee "has ... five times ... officially declared that the arrest of the four former security generals falls strictly within the responsibilities of the Lebanese judiciary and that the committee was not to be held responsible for it."

Sayyed renews appeal for release, accuses magistrate and prosecutor of abusing powers of judiciary

Daily Star - Sayyed renews appeal for release, accuses magistrate and prosecutor of abusing powers of judiciary, July 2, 2007

The detained former head of General Security, Jamil Sayyed, accused State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and Investigative Magistrate Elias Eid on Sunday of transforming the Lebanese judiciary into "a tool for political detention." In a statement issued Sunday through attorney Akram Azoury, Sayyed said Eid was reluctant to release him because "he was afraid of Mirza, and Mirza, in turn, was afraid from pressures exerted on him from various politicians." He added, "The duty of both Mirza and Eid is to establish justice and not be subject to any outside influences."
Four officers - Raymond Azar of Army Intelligence, Ali Hajj of the Internal Security Forces, Mustafa Hamdan of the Presidential Guard and Sayyed - have been detained since August 2005 for alleged involvement in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.
Sayyed said he was surprised that he was kept in confinement, after the UN probe committee "has - five times - officially declared that the arrest of the four former security generals falls strictly within the responsibilities of the Lebanese judiciary and that the committee was not to be held responsible for it."
Sayyed said that while the UN probe blamed Eid and Mirza for the arrests, "Eid and Mirza, on the other hand, both contend that political pressures prevent them from releasing me."
Sayyed's third statement this week comes a few days after Mohammad Mattar, the lawyer for the heirs of four Hariri bodyguards who died in the bombing, filed a request on Wednesday that Eid be replaced. Mattar cited Eid's alleged "intention" to release former security officials Azar and Sayyed before the conclusion of the investigation.
He also cited Eid's "overly friendly relations" with the lawyers and families of the four officers suspected of involvement in the assassination.