April 21, 2009 - Naharnet - Siddiq Arrested or Not Arrested

There has been conflicting reports as to whether or not Mohammed Zuheir Siddiq, key witness in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, had been arrested or not. Official sources in the United Arab Emirates refused to confirm or deny Siddiq's reported arrest.Dubai police chief Gen. Dahi Khalfan also denied in remarks published Tuesday by pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat that Siddiq has been arrested in Dubai."He was not arrested on Dubai territory," Khalfan said, claiming no knowledge that Siddiq had been arrested in another Emirate.
An Arab diplomat told the Associated Press news agency on Sunday that Siddiq, one of the suspects in Hariri's murder, has been arrested in Dubai.
Siddiq, purported Syrian intelligence officer, was named a suspect by a U.N. commission investigating the 2005 assassination.
Hariri was killed in a massive bombing that many Lebanese believe was carried out by Syria, Lebanon's long dominant neighbor. Syria denies involvement.
Initially Siddiq was a witness who gave evidence to U.N. investigators. His information, however, was later discredited, and at the U.N. commission's recommendation, he was arrested in France in October 2005 as a suspect in the murder. He disappeared from house arrest in France in March 2008, according to French authorities. The UAE's Foreign Ministry could not confirm he was living in the country and did not know if he was arrested. The Arab diplomat said Siddiq was arrested Friday in Dubai and that Syria has requested his extradition. Syrian media reports have said Siddiq is wanted there for allegedly giving false testimony implicating Syria in the assassination. Only four other suspects in the killing are in custody. They are pro-Syria generals who led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination. They have not been formally charged. An international tribunal in the Netherlands took up the case in February.