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 Hezbollah denied on Saturday that one of the four suspects in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has been interviewed by the TIME magazine, and considered that the mentioned interview was fabricated by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.The TIME magazine has claimed that its reporter was meeting with a Hezbollah source when he found himself introduced to the suspect who arrived alone aboard a scooter at the home of his Hezbollah comrade. “While discussing the indictments, he revealed his true identity and confirmed it by showing an old ID card, but agreed to be interviewed only on condition that neither his nor the location be revealed,” the daily claimed. In a statement it released, Hezbollah stressed that any Hezbollah official source did not meet the TIME magazine’s reporter. “Thus, the mentioned report is inaccurate, as the claimed interview did not even happen,” the statement said. It considered that the whole issue was fabricated by the STL, after it made us used to wrong and fabricated detective novels. The magazine has claimed that the suspect said that the Lebanese authorities would have arrested him if they wanted to. “The Lebanese authorities know where I live, and if they wanted to arrest me they would have done it a long time ago. Simply, they cannot,” he was quoted as saying. | |||
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 Former Prime Miniser Saad Hariri slammed Hezbollah and the cabinet over the ‘fabricated’ TIME magazine interview with one of the four suspects named in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon indictment.Hariri’s press office issued a statement on Saturday in which he claimed that Hezbollah considers that the State, its institutions, its government and its security and judiciary forces are only tools to protect Hezbollah… and to cover up what he called “their violations and abuses against Lebanon and the Lebanese.” The statement went on to say that Hezbollah wants the state to cover up its political, military and security existence, stressing that “some officials in the cabinet are providing this cover and participating with Hezbollah in their policy to escape from the truth and justice.” Hariri wondered if President Michel Suleiman, PM Najib Miqati and his cabinet are aware of the interview published by the magazine. “It seems that none of them want to hear, read, see or talk about anything linked to Hezbollah and their dominance over the government’s decision… and no one can contradict the opinion and the will of the supreme leader of the Lebanese Republic,” the statement added. | |||
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TIME interviews one of the Hezbollah accused men
During a recent conversation with a Hizballah source, a TIME reporter found himself introduced to one of the four members of the organization accused of playing a role in the assassination of Rafik Hariri. The accused man arrived alone aboard a scooter at the home of his Hizballah comrade. While discussing the indictments, he revealed his true identity and confirmed it by showing an old ID card, but agreed to be interviewed only on condition that neither his name nor the location be revealed. �TIME: Why did you agree to this interview? �
I want to send a message to the world that I wasn't involved in the assassination of Rafik Hariri and that all the charges attributed to me are empty.
TIME: But what can you say about the cellphone data analysis?
Everyone knows that the Mossad can manipulate the cellphone data with the help of spies, and some of the spies were arrested which gives clear evidence that Israel can manipulate the telecommunications data. If the tribunal was built on [genuine] evidence I would have given myself [up] from the first day. �
TIME: Let's go back to the day of the assassination. Where were you on February 14, 2005? �
I was carrying out my [military] work and I cannot reveal where, but I can prove that I wasn't in the area of [the] Saint George [Hotel], the place of the assassination, and I was at least an hour-and-a-half away from that area. �
TIME: Then you deny your participation in this terrorist act? �
Absolutely. I was even surprised when I heard the news that Hariri was assassinated, and I stopped with a friend of mine in one of the coffee shops to watch it on TV. And the next day I went to my work as usual and people saw me. If I had participated in the assassination I would have taken more measures. �
TIME:� After the formation of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, did you expect you would be among the four defendants? �
For several years, Syria was accused of the assassination, and the whole international community encircled Syria on this basis. But after Syria's cooperation with the international community, Hizballah was accused of the assassination and � they put our names as the killers. �
TIME: Why don't you hand yourself over to the Tribunal? �
I will not turn myself in to a tribunal the main goal of which is to end Hizballah and not ... [to] reveal the [identity] of the real assassins. This is a politicized tribunal � admitted to even by some of its members. If they are looking for the truth, let them search somewhere else than Lebanon. Let them go to neighboring countries and they will find the real suspects. �
TIME: Do you mean Syria? �
Of course not. They have to go to Israel which has the first and only interest in the killing of Hariri. Can't you see that the only beneficiary from this assassination is Israel and its allies? �
TIME: Do you think Hizballah will deliver you to the Tribunal? �
If I was guilty, Hizballah would have turned me over from the first day to the so-called international justice. I said it once and will repeat it for the last time: I am innocent of all charges against me. �
TIME: The Lebanese authorities are also looking for you. �
The Lebanese authorities know where I live, and if they wanted to arrest me they would have done it a long time ago. Simply, they cannot. �
TIME: What do you think will happen to the Tribunal? �
Since the day of its formation, the Tribunal has had no credibility. I am sure it will continue, but Lebanon will not execute any of its resolutions. The international community has to find a better way to end the Resistance [Hizballah], Syria, and Iran. �
TIME: What are your future plans? �
I will continue living my ordinary life without giving any attention to the Tribunal and any of its resolutions.
Uprooted Palestinian
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