Washington Post: UN asks Belgian to head investigation of Hariri assassination
Lebanon-Syria-UN, Politics, 12/29/2005

The United Nations has asked a Belgian prosecutor to take over its investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri, according to a spokesman for the prosecutor and senior UN officials, the Washington Post reported yesterday.

The Washington Post said UN Secretary General Kofi Annan wants Serge Brammertz, the deputy prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, to succeed German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, who will step down next month. Mehlis has led a six-month UN inquiry that has implicated members of Syrian President Bashar Assad's inner circle in the February 14 killing of Hariri.

The Washington Post reported that senior UN officials said that Annan is delaying a public announcement because Brammertz wants more time to assure governments that support the International Criminal Court that his departure will not disrupt its ongoing war crimes investigations of Sudan, Congo and Uganda. They also expressed concern for Brammertz's physical safety.

The Washington Post reported Mehlis had received frequent death threats since taking control of the UN probe in May. A Lebanese newspaper, An-Nahar, reported Wednesday that a pro-Syrian organization that claimed responsibility for killing the paper's editor, Gebran Tueni, issued a new threat against Mehlis's successor.

The transition comes at a sensitive juncture in the UN inquiry, which has issued two reports asserting there is "probable cause" that senior pro-Syrian Lebanese and Syrian officials plotted the Valentine's Day car bombing that killed Hariri and 20 others. The UN team is seeking an interview with Assad's brother-in-law, Asef Shawkat, the chief of Syria's intelligence service, the Washington Post reported. Syrian officials have denied Assad's government was involved in the killing. Syria's foreign minister is calling a protocal with the UN investigators, an offer that was rejected by Mehlis before.

Previous Stories:
  Syrian detained over Tueini murder   (12/28/2005)
  Tension between Hizbullah and Junblat   (12/27/2005)
  Lebanese personalities emphasize the distinguished ties with Syria   (12/27/2005)
  Al-Sharq al-Awsat: UN investigator sees link between various Lebanese assassinations   (12/19/2005)
  Lebanese dissatisfaction with UN decision on Hariri probe   (12/17/2005)
  UN investigation resolution is moderate, Syria's UN says   (12/17/2005)

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