Nasrallah: Indictment Based on Conclusions, Not Direct Evidence
Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Wednesday said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon lacked sufficient evidence to implicate members of his group in the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri.
"What the tribunal published confirms what we have been saying for months, that the investigation is neither transparent nor scientific," said Nasrallah in a nationally televised speech broadcast hours after the Netherlands-based court unsealed its indictment.
"There is no direct evidence in the entire text ... the investigation was built on coincidental telephone communications," Nasrallah added.
"It is unacceptable that four of our honorable brothers in the resistance be accused, rather, be victims of slander and injustice."
Hizbullah’s leader advised the public opinion to “read the entire 45 pages” of the indictment’s text, noting that “the other camp will speak of conclusive evidence, something that the indictment itself did not mention.”
Nasrallah also accused the court of aiming to "destroy the human and social fabric of Lebanon".
“What’s happening now is an attempt at undermining and sabotaging the social fabric, paving the ground for wars and civil strife, dragging the resistance into (civil strife) and consequently striking the resistance and harming its credibility.”
Nasrallah warned that some sides are seeking to “sabotage ties among the Lebanese sects … in order to ignite the country and finish it and the target is the resistance.”
“The resistance is being targeted because it is an element of immunity and strength and because it is defending Lebanon’s rights. They have targeted the resistance with the assassination of its leaders; psychological warfare and nonstop threats against Lebanon; military wars; and failed attempts at political isolation,” Hizbullah number one added.
But “even the killing of the leaders gave impetus to the resistance, which is a mission that we cannot give up,” he vowed.
Recalling press conferences held by Hizbullah officials, Nasrallah added: “We, with the help of official authorities and international experts, have categorically proven the extent of Israel’s manipulation of the telecom sector in Lebanon and that the mobile phone numbers of certain people were used without their knowledge, and this alone is sufficient to contest the indictment.”
Reassuring Hizbullah’s supporters, Nasrallah said: “I assure you that pressures will not manage to shake the resolve, will and faith of the resistance in Lebanon and I assure you that the resistance will remain strong and capable of protecting Lebanon’s dignity and oil resources according to the golden ‘army-people-resistance’ equation.”
“I assure you that the resistance will preserve Lebanon’s unity and coexistence and all the conspiracies to ignite sedition and civil war will go in vain,” he pledged.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday unsealed large parts of an indictment accusing four Lebanese citizens with close ties to Hizbullah in the February 14, 2005 bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others in Beirut.
The indictment draws extensively on telecoms evidence against Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra, all of whom remain at large.
They face charges that include conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act and intentional homicide.
"Based on their experience, training, and affiliation with Hizbullah, therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that Badreddine and Ayyash had the capability to undertake the February 14, 2005 attack," the text said.
Nasrallah has repeatedly accused the tribunal of being a U.S.-Israeli conspiracy against his group.
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