http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051018/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_hariri_probe;_ylt=AvBSkNIoWLmQQSgIlvr8O1cLewgF;_ylu=X3oDMTBjMHVqMTQ4BHNlYwN5bnN1YmNhdA--Syrian Charged in Hariri Probe in Lebanon By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 18, 6:13 PM ET
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A Lebanese judge charged a former Syrian intelligence officer with complicity in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, judicial officials said Tuesday.
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Magistrate Elias Eid accused Zuhair Mohammed Al-Siddiq, who was arrested by French police Monday, of having an indirect role in the Feb. 14 Beirut bomb blast that killed the former prime minister and 20 others. He was also accused of giving false testimony to investigators and misleading the U.N. investigation into Hariri's death. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give statements, said they had asked for Al-Siddiq, 45, to be extradited and were awaiting a French response.
Officers from France's counterespionage service arrested Al-Siddiq in a Paris suburb based on an international arrest warrant issued by Eid, who accused him of lying and misleading the U.N. investigation. Eid added the charge of complicity in Hariri's murder Tuesday based on material provided by U.N. investigators heading the probe, the officials said. The charge against Al-Siddiq comes a few days before U.N. investigators report to the Security Council on Hariri's killing. Many here blame Syria for the assassination, a charge Syria denies. Mehlis is to release his report by Oct. 24.
Arab media have for weeks described Al-Siddiq as being a leading witness in the Hariri probe. There was no mention of any charges against him until few days ago, after it became clear that he was not a credible witness after apparently lying about various aspects of the investigation. That has prompted some pro-Syrian officials to criticize the U.N. investigation for allegedly basing much of its findings on Al-Siddiq's testimony, since it turned out to be false.
Lebanese and Arab media reports have said Al-Siddiq claimed he took part in a meeting of Lebanese security officials who drew up a plan to kill Hariri. He then allegedly left Syria for a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia before ending up in France, where U.N. investigators interviewed him. The U.N. team has named four Lebanese generals, all close to Syria, as suspects in the assassination. Lebanon has arrested them.
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