Report: Evidence links Hezbollah to murder of former Lebanese PM

According to an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp, previously unpublished Lebanese phone records connect Hezbollah to the 2005 murder of Rafik Hariri.

By Haaretz Service

UN investigators and a Lebanese police officer have unearthed evidence implicating Hezbollah in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, according to an investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp published Sunday.

The report by CBC News details a months-long investigation which links Hezbollah to the Hariri murder, and faults the United Nations for having key information on the case which it failed to pursue further.

	Assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri speaking with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on May, 25, 2001.
	Photo by: AP

According to a phone analysis by Lebanese and UN investigators, the records suggest that Hezbollah officials were in frequent contact with the owners of the cell phones that were allegedly used to coordinate the bomb detonation that killed Hariri.

According to the Washington Post, the revelations are likely to add to speculations that a UN prosecutor plans to indict members of Hezbollah by the end of the year.

The CBC report also points to errors done by the United Nations, such as misplacing the Lebanese phone records which allegedly identify the phones used by Hariri's killers – a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation. The report also faults the UN committee for the inadequate security provided for a key Lebanese officer who was killed after he helped the UN crack the case.

The latest evidence is a major development in the UN investigation which initially implicated Syria, even though recent media reports have already said that the United Nations prosecutor may issue indictments against members of Hezbollah. Hezbollah, however, denies any involvement.

A spokesman for the United Nations declined to comment Sunday on the substance of the allegations.

Published online at Haaretz.com, 22 November 2010