Conspiracy theories rife after death of Syria’s Kanaan

While the official verdict on the death of Syrian Interior Minister Ghazi Kanaan is suicide, many in Lebanon harbour doubts. Once Syria’s feared powerbroker in Lebanon, memories of his iron-fisted rule and his ruthless reputation, have prompted questions of the official Syrian version.

“Was Ghazi Kanaan slaughtered or did he commit suicide?” asked Thursday’s front-page headline in Lebanon’s al-Mustaqbal, which is owned by the Hariri family. The Daily Star drew comparisons to the 2000 suicide of Syrian Prime Minister Mahmoud Zu’bi who took his life before security forces came to arrest him on corruption charges. Syrian MP Mohammed Habash said Kanaan showed no signs of distress when he saw him in a ministerial meeting on Tuesday, adding that the official version was not credible.