Lebanese official to sue Kuwaiti paper
A top Lebanese security official has arrived in Kuwaiti City to sue a Kuwaiti newspaper over a report connecting him with the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq al- Hariri, news reports said.
In its 19 February issue, the daily al-Siyasa accused two Syrian army generals, Nasif Shawkat and Bahjat Sulaiman, and Lebanese Jamil al-Sayid, director of Lebanese Public Security, of being involved in al-Hariri’s assassination.
Al-Sayid said the accusations are untrue and that he intends to sue the newspaper’s owner and the editor-in-chief, al-Siyasa said in a story on Friday.
According to the daily, the three were convinced that al-Hariri managed to line up the United States and France against Lebanon, which led to UN resolution 1559, asking for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.
Paper’s stand
The paper said the three were concerned that al-Hariri’s list might win the Lebanese elections due in May and push to end the Syrian military presence in Lebanon.
Al-Hariri was killed on 14 February along with 14 other people when his convoy was attacked in the heart of Beirut.
The Lebanese opposition accused Syria of being behind the attack and asked for a “peaceful intifada” to press for the resignation of the pro-Syrian government.
The editor-in-chief of al-Siyasa, Ahmad al-Jar Allah, was quoted in his paper on Friday as saying that al-Sayid’s decision to approach the Kuwaiti court is “his right” and “proves that the Gulf state is a democratic country.”
Al-Jar Allah said that his paper “will definitely protect its sources.”