Lawyer Salameh Says to Confine Syria Lawsuit to Saqr

Lebanese lawyer Rashad Salameh said on Friday that he will limit the Syrian lawsuit against those who are allegedly involved in arming the Syrian opposition to al-Mustaqbal lawmaker Oqab Saqr only if he was proven guilty in the case.

Salameh, who was appointed on Syria's behalf, said in comments published in the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat that “the parliament has to lift Saqr's immunity as he will not surpass the decision undertaken by it concerning the case.”

“I don't see there's a reason to expand prosecution to include others as the final decision relies on the Lebanese judiciary that can either choose to keep the case dormant or carry out the necessary investigations,” Salameh pointed out.

The lawyer stressed that he is waiting for the stance of General Prosecutor Judge Hatem Madi, who requested the recordings of interviews and a press conference conducted by Saqr in recent weeks and tasked the Central Criminal Investigations Bureau with examining audio recordings implicating him in the transfer of arms to Syria.

“I know my limits... If I filed a lawsuit it will be restricted to MP Saqr... I will not file a lawsuit against former PM Saad Hairi no matter what, even if his name was in the recordings I will remove it,” Salameh told al-Hayat.

OTV and al-Akhbar newspaper recently revealed that Saqr had been carrying out arms deals with Syrian opposition members, with the television station airing leaked recordings of conversations between the lawmaker and Meqdad.

The lawmaker accused OTV and al-Akhbar of tampering with the audiotapes, adding that he will file a lawsuit against them.

According to An Nahar newspaper, Salameh will file the lawsuit against Saqr on Friday or by Monday maximum, depending on the preparations of the necessary documents.

Media reports said on Thursday that the Interpol will not deal with the Syrian arrest warrants against Hariri, Saqr and Free Syrian Army member Louay al-Meqdad in line with its constitution and rules.

The move comes in light of requests by the Lebanese judiciary to question Syrian security chief Ali Mamlouk, a colonel identified only as Adnan as suspects in the case of former Minister Michel Samaha and Buthaina Shaaban, Assad's media adviser, to be questioned as a witness in the case. An Nahar also reported that the lawyer is expected to defend Mamlouk and Colonel Adnan, who have been summoned by Lebanese judiciary for questioning on January 14, 2013.

On Monday, State Commissioner to the Military Court Judge Saqr Saqr completed his assessment of the Samaha case, requesting that the investigation expand to include the questioning of Mamlouk, Colonel Adnan, and Shaaban.

He had requested that Mamlouk and Colonel Adnan be summoned as suspects in the case and that Shaaban be addressed as a witness.

Samaha was arrested in August on charges of forming a criminal gang aimed at carrying out terrorist attacks in Lebanon at Syria's behest.