This Is How Indictment Offers Analyses not Evidence

Hussein Assi

MP Nawwaf Al-Moussawi to Al-Manar Website: For These Reasons, Indictment Fabricated! Indictment Doesn’t Offer Solid Evidence, Only Analyses It Was Possible to Reach Other Reasonable Conclusions Indictment’s Conclusions Cannot Be Considered Evidence Perfect Match between Indictment and Media Leaks Indictment Seeking to Tarnish Image of Resistance Indictment… Misleading Public Opinion without Proofs! Member of the Loyalty to the Resistance parliamentary bloc MP Nawwaf AlMoussawi said that the indictment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri did not offer solid evidence and resorted only to analysis of telecommunications. “We’re not in front of accusations based on evidence, but in front of conclusions that cannot be considered evidence,” he said, as he remarked a perfect match between the indictment and the media leaks which have started on August 19, 2006. In an exclusive interview with Al-Manar Website, MP Al-Moussawi refuted the indictment in all its forms, and pointed to what he called the flagrant process of misleading the public opinion. He remarked that statements such as “it’s possible to conclude” were mentioned more than nine times, something that suggests the absence of any solid evidence. MP Al-Moussawi stressed that the indictment took the form of a preliminary hypothesis that paved the way for launching accusations and fabricating claims to serve it. He also found strange the Prosecutor’s adoption of a US-Zionist expression, especially when he speaks of Hezbollah as an organization that has performed some “terrorist acts”. While reiterating that the indictment was seeking to tarnish the image of the Resistance and to undermine national unity, Al-Moussawi noted that the other bloc has chosen its path, and it’s impossible to let it change its mind, no matter what evidence we provide it with. PERFECT MATCH MP Nawwaf Al-Moussawi tackled the indictment released by the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon from its form since the beginning. He pointed to the perfect match between the indictment and the media leaks which preceded it, since August 19, 2006, when French daily Le Figaro spoke of an intention to accuse Hezbollah of involvement in Hariri’s murder, based on mobile phones that were exclusively used before and after the assassination. He also noted to the article published by German daily Der Spiegel on May 23, 2009, in which two names of the four accused were mentioned, i.e. “Hajj Salim” (as it mentioned it) and Mustafa Badreddine. As he explored the media leaks, he also noted that French daily Le Monde published on February 14, 2010, a report about the STL operating procedures, and said that the whole issue was related to a phone network that was used in carrying out the assassination. Yet, Al-Moussawi noted that the most direct and detailed representation of this perfect match took the form of a TV report, broadcast by the Canadian Television (CBC) on November 21, 2010. “Whoever watched this report and listened to the indictment noticed that the matching level was hundred percent,” Moussawi said. “Perhaps, some phone numbers were hidden to prevent a certain shock for the public opinion,” he added. Hezbollah MP concluded that these leaks reveal the politicized aspect of the tribunal. “The other bloc used to claim that the leaks have no value, and that the tribunal was completely in another world and that the indictment would be based on some solid evidence. The indictment was released and proved that all what we have been saying was true.” CONCLUSIONS… NO PROOF Turning to the remarks related to the content, MP Al-Moussawi highlighted that the indictment did not offer any solid evidence. “It is fully based on analysis of telecommunication, without providing the reader with any tangible proof,” he said. “We’re not in front of accusations based on evidence, but in front of conclusions that cannot be considered evidence,” he added. He also remarked that statements such as “it’s possible to conclude” were mentioned more than nine times, something that suggests the absence of any solid evidence. Al-Moussawi noted that the indictment spoke, in one of its clauses, about many groups, including the red one, described as the assassination network. “The indictment classifies it as a secret and regular, in the sense that its members only communicate with each other. Then, it says that one of its members is Salim Ayyach, given that a personal phone for Ayyach was geographically connected to the red phones that were operating. How can we prove the presence of direct links between Ayyach and the red network? Is this a proof?” Al-Moussawi recalled that it has been proven that this kind of arguments cannot be considered as evidence. “Telecom experts are able to confirm that the Telecoms data in Lebanon was manipulated, and that it was possible to fabricate false calls from different geographic locations,” he pointed out. Furthermore, Al-Moussawi questioned the “reasonable conclusions” taken by the Prosecutor in the indictment. “Who can prove that Sami Issa and Assad Sabra, for instance, contacted each other to arrange for the fabricated announcement of responsibility? Even if the mentioned phone call actually took place, who can prove that they were discussing this task, and not something else? Wasn’t it possible to reach other ‘reasonable’ conclusions?” He wondered. FLAGRANT MISLEADING Al-Moussawi also pointed to what he called a flagrant process of misleading the public opinion, in page 13 in the indictment, in which graphics show the relationship among the four suspects. “According to the graphics, it appears that Salim Ayyach (from the red network) has called Mustafa Badreddine (from the green network). But, in another place of the indictment, there’s a remark that the members of the red network only communicate with each other. Thus, there’s some confusion in the indictment.” As a conclusion, Al-Moussawi stressed that the indictment took the form of a preliminary hypothesis that paved the way for launching accusations and fabricating claims to serve it. He also found strange the Prosecutor’s adoption of a US-Zionist expression, especially when he regarded Hezbollah as an organization that had performed some ‘terrorist acts’. “This is an anticipated bias that shows that the Prosecutor fully adopts the Zionist-American standards contrary to the truth,” he said. “Everyone knows that Hezbollah was completely committed to fighting Israeli militants and spies, without even coming near their families. We all remember how the Resistance postponed one of its operations against spy Aql Hashem because his son was accompanying him.” INDICTMENT TARGETS Answering a question about the repercussions of the indictment, MP Al-Moussawi pointed out that the indictment’s list of targets has become clear. “It seeks to tarnish the image of the resistance and to undermine national unity,” he said. Yet, he assured that those who are concerned of Lebanon would not allow anyone to tarnish the image of the resistance, after all the achievements it made were for the sake of Lebanon’s dignity. He confirmed that the resistance would remain committed to protect the national unity and prevent any attempt to undermine it. Answering another question about the other bloc’s stances supportive to the indictment, Al-Moussawi said that “some people have chosen the path they want to take, and it is impossible to make them change their minds no matter what evidence you provide them with… You can awaken someone asleep, but you can’t awaken someone pretending to be asleep.”

Source: Website Team

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