Naharnet Newsdesk - Mehlis Seen Quitting Hariri Probe by December 15, but U.N. Investigation will Continue

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Mehlis Seen Quitting Hariri Probe by December 15, but U.N. Investigation will Continue

A local press report said Thursday U.N. chief investigator Detlev Mehlis would submit his resignation from leading the probe into Rafik Hariri's assassination when he presents his December 15 report to the Security Council about his findings.
The Beirut daily As Safir quoted unnamed but highly informed diplomatic sources as saying Mehlis had already informed U.N. chief Kofi Annan about his desire to go back to pending cases at his office as a Berlin prosecutor.

The paper also said there were German political considerations behind the Mehlis departure because the German government fears a backlash on its interests around the Middle East due to the probe.

As Safir and An Nahar laid emphasis Thursday on a remark made by Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari that Mehlis may have his own reasons to leave the probe but the investigation will continue 'with or without Mehlis' because the truth about the assassination could not be established in the next few weeks.

Gambari also said in a news conference he held at the commission's Monteverde headquarters Wednesday evening that the Lebanese government is inclined to demand an extension of the probe beyond the Dec. 15 deadline, adding that the commission would interrogate the 5 Syrian intelligence officers in Vienna from Dec. 5 to Dec. 7.

Gambari, who is Mehlis' direct boss in the U.N. hierarchy, said the commission would probably question several other Syrians without giving names "to seek further evidence."

Mehlis, in turn, told a news conference that the Syrian investigating committee had put witness Husam Husam on TV screens before interrogating him, calling the move a "poor Syrian propaganda gimmick."

Mehlis confirmed that Husam was actually the 'Masked Witness' but "not the primary witness." Mehlis said the testimony Husam had given to his commission "stands as the true testimony."

Beirut, 01 Dec 05, 10:31


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