LEBANON: FOUR GENERALS' RELEASE: HIZBALLAH DEMANDS "JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY"

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000500 SIPDIS DEPT FOR NEA/FO, NEA/ELA ALSO FOR IO ACTING A/S WARLICK P FOR DRUSSELL, RRANGASWAMY USUN FOR WOLFF/GERMAIN/SCHEDLBAUER NSC FOR SHAPIRO, MCDERMOTT DOD/OSD FOR FLOURNOY/KAHL/DALTON DRL/NESA FOR WHITMAN, BARGHOUT OVP FOR HMUSTAFA E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/03/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PTER PINR UNSC LE SY SUBJECT: LEBANON: FOUR GENERALS' RELEASE: HIZBALLAH DEMANDS "JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY" Classified By: Ambassador Michele J. Sison for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) In a May 1 speech following the release of the four generals detained in connection with Rafiq Hariri's assassination, Hizballah SYG Nasrallah implied that he would now be wary of future STL decisions because he faults the international court for the generals' prolonged detention. Nasrallah also called for judicial accountability for "those who misled" the investigation. Some opposition figures called for the resignations of Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza and Examining Magistrate Judge Saqr Saqr, but others, such as Michel Aoun, have been more restrained. ¶2. (C) On May 5, Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar downplayed the possibility that the opposition's criticisms of the two Lebanese judges involved in the case could lead to instability. He did not discount the possibility that at least one might be forced out. Najar expected the Higher Judicial Council to issuea statement later in the day supporting the judiciary, and by extension, the two judges. Najjar expressed concern about the behavior of former General Security chief Jamil Sayyed, one of the four who were released, and those close to him. (Note: Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea voiced similar concerns -- septel. End summary. NASRALLAH QUESTIONS INTEGRITY OF STL -------------- ¶3. (U) In a May 1 televised speech, Hizballah SYG Hassan Nasrallah commented on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's (STL) April 29 decision to release the four generals who had been detained since 2005 in connection with former PM Rafiq Hariri's assassination. Nasrallah implied that he could no longer trust the STL, and suggested that the international court could "continue to mislead." He also stated that he would no longer "accept in advance anything issued by the public prosecutor, the international investigation, or the STL," as he claimed he had with the UN Investigative Commission that preceded the STL. ¶4. (U) He said that Hizballah officials had remained silent at the beginning of the generals' detention because "we did not know what was going on...we thought it was better to wait and see" the outcome of the investigation by the UN investigative commission known as UNIIIC. Despite initial calling for a Lebanese-run investigation and a Lebanese court system to try the cases, Nasrallah argued, he and others in his March 8 alliance had cooperated fully with the investigation, for example, when their ministers voted in the cabinet to extend UNIIIC's mandate. He stressed that the March 8 and March 14 alliances never disagreed on "uncovering the truth and punishing the culprits." ¶5. (U) Nasrallah singled out the moment when former Syrian intelligence officer Mohammed Zohair Siddiq, who at one point asserted Syrian high-level involvement in the assassination, recanted his statements, as the pivotal moment when "the whole investigation process collapsed." In the end, Nasrallah asserted, the STL was "guilty" because it was complicit in what he deemed the politically-motivated continued detention of the four generals. CALLS FOR JUDICIAL ACCOUNTABILITY -------------- ¶6. (C) Nasrallah also demanded to "hold responsible those who misled" the investigation. He requested that the Lebanese judiciary "summon, arrest, interrogate, and punish false witnesses," naming Siddiq in particular and everyone who covered for him, in order to make an example and prevent further "false witnesses." The Lebanese judiciary and security services should investigate the assassinations with a fresh start, he proposed, and consider the possibility the Israeli government was responsible. He called for calm and Lebanese unity. ¶7. (C) While Nasrallah was not particularly critical of the Lebanese judiciary, other opposition officials were more pointed in their criticisms. Hizballah Deputy Chief Naim Qassem and other opposition figures pinned the "blame" for the imprisonment of the generals on Prosecutor General Saeed Mirza and Examining Magistrate Judge Saqr Saqr, accusing them of misleading the investigation and some called for their resignations. ¶8. (C) The release of the generals was the main topic at the April 30 cabinet meeting. The cabinet agreed to defer to the Higher Judicial Council (HJC) to address the issue of the judges' actions. That meeting is scheduled for the afternoon of May 5. JUSTICE MINISTER: OPPOSITION WANTS CALM, BUT SAYYED IS UNPREDICTABLE -------------- ¶9. (C) Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar reviewed these events in a May 5 meeting with DCM and Poloff. He said he had been nervous immediately after the four generals' release about how the political opposition would play it, but now believed that the opposition wants the situation to be calm prior to the June 7 parliamentary elections. He also assessed that the reactions by Nasrallah and Christian opposition leader Michel Aoun indicated that this was the case. He was concerned, though, by the behavior of former General Security chief Jamil Sayyed, one of those released, who has been working with two "puppets of Syria" as he called them, former minister and MP Michel Samaha, and former MP Nasser Qandil. He said he expected those close to Sayyed to continue their attacks against Mirza and Saqr. Mirza is away at a spa in the Czech Republic this week, he noted. ¶10. (C) Najjar said that at its meeting later that day, the HJC would issue a statement supporting the judiciary and that he was anxious to see the reactions to the statement. He said that the criticisms from the opposition were focused on the two judges, Mirza and Saqr, rather than the judiciary itself. He emphasized that PM Fouad Siniora and Speaker Nabih Berri (who not on good terms with Sayyed, Najjar said) would strongly support the judges. ¶11. (C) Najjar thought it was possible that that Saqr might eventually be forced out, stressing that this would not happen immediately. Only the cabinet can fire the judges, and that will not occur because the majority will not permit it, he noted. But he did not discount the possibility of Saqr resigning under pressure. JUDGE FRANSEN IS "ON ANOTHER PLANET" -------------- ¶12. (C) Najjar made unprompted complaints about Tribunal Prosecutor Bellemare, saying he acted without sensitivity for the Lebanese environment, and pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen, whom he said was "too young and on another planet." Pressed on the reasons for his criticism, since Bellemare's and Fransen's actions to release the generals were not a surprise, Najjar was critical of the quality of Fransen's written decision and said he believed Bellemare and others at the STL "fear Hizballah." For his part, Najjar said he is working on a draft law to amend the criminal procedure law to set a time limit, such as six months, for the detention of suspects. COMMENT -------------- ¶13. (C) We will continue to monitor the reaction to the generals' release. Saad Hariri was upbeat in a May 4 conversation with Ambassador, and felt that Sayyed's comments to the media were working to turn public sympathy away from the four generals. March 14 leader Samir Geagea told Ambassador on May 5 that he was not concerned about serious political reaction (septel). Aoun, in his May 4 statement, said he had decided to withdraw his support for the Tribunal, but also said he and his opposition colleagues do not want any "security breach" that would disrupt the elections. ¶14. (C) The animosity between Amal leader Nabih Berri and released General Jamil Sayyed is also being widely discussed. Although parliamentary candidate lists are now closed, there is talk that Hizballah might wait until after the June elections to get one of their winning candidates to resign and move to a by-election (perhaps in Baalbek-Hermel) to elect Sayyed. Amal MP Yacin Jaber noted the rumor to Ambassador in a May 4 conversation, noting that "everyone" was talking about Sayyed ultimately aiming for Berri's role as Speaker. End Comment. SISON