Mirza Has No Info on Deferral Orders, Denies he Knows Whereabouts of Hariri Murder Suspects
General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza has denied that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has asked him to turn over the judiciary’s files regarding the attacks on former Ministers Marwan Hamadeh and Elias Murr, and ex-communist party leader George Hawi.
In remarks to al-Joumhouria daily published Saturday, Mirza said: “We haven’t been informed by the international tribunal about the deferral orders on the cases of Elias Murr, Marwan Hamadeh and George Hawi.”
On Thursday, the STL said it has established jurisdiction over the three attacks. Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen has also ordered that the Lebanese authorities provide the relevant files to Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, it added.
Hawi was killed June 21, 2005, by a bomb placed under his car in Beirut. Murr survived a car bombing that targeted his vehicle as he drove in Naccashe. Hamadeh survived a 2004 car bomb in Beirut.
In his remarks to al-Joumhouria, Mirza also denied that his office received a copy of a report deeming the efforts of Lebanese authorities in finding the four suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder as reasonable.
But the report called on the authorities to intensify their attempts to arrest the accused. Mirza is now required to report to the tribunal on a monthly basis, the court said.
The general prosecutor said he knew about the two issues from the media. “We will take measures when we are informed about them.”
On Saturday, Justice Minister Shakib Qortbawi called Mirza asking him about allegations made by one of the four suspects accused of involvement in Hariri’s murder, said a statement issued by the minister’s office.
Mirza denied that he had any knowledge about the suspects’ whereabouts, it said.
One of the suspects told TIME magazine that Lebanese authorities know where he lives and could have arrested him if they wanted to.
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