UN investigator says Syria hand in Hariri murder

Detlev Mehlis, the outgoing head of a UN investigation into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, has directly blam...

Detlev Mehlis, the outgoing head of a UN investigation into the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, has directly blamed ‘‘Syrian authorities’’ for the first time.

In comments published in Arabic newspaper Asharq al-Awsat on Saturday, Mehlis said some countries wanted him to rewrite a report that implicated Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies in the murder, but that he had refused.

Asked if he thought the Syrian government was behind Hariri’s killing, Mehlis said: ‘‘yes, the Syrian authorities.’’ But he declined to comment on the seniority of officials involved, but UN investigators questioned five Syrian officials in Vienna earlier this month. They postponed the questioning of a sixth Syrian official who is also a suspect.

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Neither the United Nations nor Syria have named the officials but political sources say they include Lt Gen Rustom Ghazali, Syria’s former intelligence chief in Lebanon, and his aide, Jamae Jamae.

Damascus has denied involvement in the truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others, dismissing the UN findings as politically motivated.

In a 25-page report submitted to the UN Security Council on Monday, Mehlis said new evidence reinforced his earlier contention that Syrian officials were involved in the killing. Mehlis was not available for comment on the interview.

The 15-member Security Council decided this week to extend the mandate of the inquiry for another six months, but Mehlis himself will return to Berlin as soon as a replacement is named.