France refuses to extradite Syrian over Hariri murder
Syria-France, Politics, 2/27/2006

French legal authorities have refused to extradite to Lebanon an ex-Syrian intelligence officer to answer questions about the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri.

A court in Versailles, near Paris, on Friday, took the decision because it had not been given guarantees that Zouheir Mohammad Assediq would not be liable to the death penalty if extradited, and freed him, the source added Sunday.

Assediq, who was the object of an international arrest warrant requested by a Lebanese prosecutor, was detained last October in a Paris suburb.

International pressure, led by the United States and France, has built on Syria to cooperate with the UN probe since Hariri was killed by a bomb on the Beirut waterfront in February last year.

Previous Stories:
  France denies plan to topple Lebanese president   (2/21/2006)
  Saad al-Hariri meets Chirac; urges Syria to cooperate   (1/13/2006)
  French pressure on Syria regarding Lebanon   (1/11/2006)
  al-Safir: France arrests Zouhair Siddiq   (10/18/2005)

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