April 3, 2010 - Daily Star - Report: STL investigators meet with Hizbullah's head of security

BEIRUT: International investigators from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) have recently met Hizbullah’s head of security Wafik Safa, sources close to STL investigators told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat. The sources added that a team of investigators operating under the STL have met Safa last Tuesday, one day before Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah voiced readiness in a televised interview to cooperate with the tribunal. The meeting was rumored to have been held in the General Prosecutor’s office Saeed Mirza in the Justice Palace of Beirut. Mirza was present at the meeting as well. According to the sources, an agreement was reached on a mechanism enabling the investigators to listen to testimonies of individuals among which were Hizbullah members and allies, a process that will start taking place soon but not at the STL’s office headquarters in Monteverde, north of Beirut. The sources added that the investigations team didn’t mind listing to testimonies in any place chosen by Hizbullah. The same procedures were adopted when the STL investigators arrived in Beirut on March 20 and questioned several Hizbullah members in their homes and offices, the same sources said. In an interview with Hizbullah-owned Al-Manar channel Wednesday night, Nasrallah confirmed rumors and media leaks claiming weeks ago that the STL questioned a number of Hizbullah members. But he said his party was not currently in the tribunal’s line of fire. However, Nasrallah doubted the credibility of the STL, saying the resistance would continue to cooperate with investigators but only if the court’s work proved to be on the right track away from politicization attempts. He stressed the investigation committee could regain trust and restore its image by halting media leaks and trying witnesses who committed perjury. Meanwhile, Radhia Ashouri, th spokesperson for STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, responded to Nasrallah’s holding the International Investigative Commission responsible for the media leaks on the probe. “The STL is behaving with maximum professionalism, and the secrecy of investigations is a priority to the committee,” said Ashouri, adding that Bellemare would not deal with investigations through media, and any official announcement would be made by herself or Bellemare. For his part, the UN chief’s spokesperson Farhan Haq refused to comment on Nasrallah’s remarks regarding the STL. Also on Friday, Future Movement MP Ahmad Fatfat called against instigating tensions among the public opinion. “Let’s highlight the positive aspects of Nasrallah’s remarks regarding seeking truth and distancing the STL from politicization, which are the exact goals March 14 Forces are aiming at,” Fatfat said. He also endorsed Nasrallah’s comments about the defense strategy. “Nasrallah said that Hizbullah’s arms should not be the only topic for discussion under the defense strategy, which means that weapons are an important part of the defense strategy that should be subject to discussion,” Fatfat added.He described all media specuation about the STL as mere media information lacking facts and seeking a scoop. “We started to hear voices discrediting the STL, as if those who speak know anything,” Fatfat said. “No one knows about the work of the STL.” Fatfat considered that the fact that the STL has summoned Hizbullah members who constituted less than 10 percent of all questioned individuals indicated that it was operating based on several probabilities regarding who committed the murder. “Expanding the investigation as such proves the credibility of the STL and that it is not politicized,” Fatfat said. – The Daily Star