Hussein Oneissi Exposes Govt. Negligence towards STL
Hussein Oneissi, one of the suspects accused by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon of being involved in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, was likely the suspect interviewed by TIME Magazine, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday.
Sources told the daily that the meeting probably took place last Tuesday or Wednesday in the presence of a non-Lebanese Arabic interpreter.
Oneissi is one of four Hizbullah members accused by the STL of being involved in the Hariri assassination.
The sources questioned Hizbullah’s delayed denial of the interview, which it deemed a fabrication by the tribunal, until after former Prime Minister Saad Hariri issued a statement over the article.
“The party’s media department is almost in a constant state of alert to instantly deal with any development,” they added.
Furthermore, they noted that Nicholas Blanford, who conducted the interview with the suspect, is known for his solid ties in Lebanon and “it is therefore hard to believe that he would have made up his interview.”
In a related development, al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Sunday that the concerned security forces have launched an investigation in the affair to determine the identity of the suspect in the interview.
Based on the investigations, Blanford may be summoned for a statement, it said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Najib Miqati held talks on Saturday with Speaker Nabih Berri on the interview and the ensuing confusion that took place in Lebanon.
An Nahar reported that the premier requested from Berri to ask Hizbullah to issue a denial of the interview, “which demonstrated that the Lebanese authorities are unable to fulfill their duties towards the STL.”
One of the four Hizbullah members accused of involvement in Hariri’s assassination has said that the Lebanese authorities would have arrested him if they wanted to.
"I don't care about the indictments. Let them come to arrest me," the man told TIME in an exclusive interview, which he gave on condition of anonymity despite having been publicly named by the STL among the four suspects.
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