Hezbollah leader says group members were summoned for questioning in Hariri’s case

Hezbollah chief: Members summoned in Hariri’s case

BEIRUT — International investigators have summoned 12 Hezbollah members and close supporters for questioning in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the group’s leader said Wednesday.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said the 12 were summoned as “witnesses and not as suspects,” adding that six more are to be called soon.

“We have nothing to fear and we will cooperate. We have no problem with the investigating committee sitting with our men,” Nasrallah told the group’s Al Manar TV in a live interview. But he said cooperation has limits and it depends on track of the investigation.

“We will watch the track of the investigation and other things to decide whether we will continue to cooperate or not,” Nasrallah said. He added that blaming Hezbollah for Hariri’s assassination aims at tarnishing the group’s image.

In May last year, German magazine Der Spiegel said the court had evidence that members of Hezbollah were behind the assassination.

Many in Lebanon fear that if the Shiite Hezbollah is accused by the tribunal in connection with the assassination, it could lead to violence between Lebanon’s Shiite and Sunni communities.

Violence between members of the two sects left more than 100 people dead over the past five years.

Hariri was a Sunni Muslim with close links to Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s foremost Sunni powers.

Nasrallah said it was not the first time that group members were summoned and there were similar cases since 2008.

Nasrallah said that among those summoned recently was an official who deals with cultural affairs and a military official who job is to coordinate with “the brothers in occupied Palestinian.” Hezbollah has close relations with the militant Palestinian groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Hariri was Lebanon’s most prominent politician since the 1975-1990 civil war ended. He was killed in a massive truck bombing that set off a spiral of political turmoil in Lebanon, including the withdrawal of Syrian troops after almost 30 years of military presence and domination of the country.

Many Lebanese blame Syria for the killing, which Damascus denies.

Hezbollah has fiercely denied any role in the killing. Nasrallah said in the past that any attempt to implicate Hezbollah in the killing will be considered a politically motivated “Israeli accusation.”

The U.N. investigating team has questioned hundreds of people in the past few years, but it has kept silent on its progress and who might be charged.

Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report.