Hezbollah members indicted in Hariri murder

Lebanese media says four arrest warrants issued against Shiite group members, including brother-in-law of Imad Mughniyah. Hezbollah: Tribunal politicized

Roee Nahmias |Last update: 06.30.11 , 21:25

Four Hezbollah members have been indicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Lebanese media outlets reported on Thursday.

A delegation from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon filed an indictment in the assassination of Hariri to Lebanon's Attorney General Said Mirza.

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Members of the UN backed tribunal met Mirza on Thursday and handed him the 163-page report, which includes four arrest warrants against Hezbollah memebers.

The Lebanese LBC channel reported that one of the main suspects named in the indictment is Hezbollah senior member Mustafa Badr Aldin, who is also the brother in-law of the organization's former "chief of staff" Imad Mughniyah.

According to al-Nahar website, 50-year-old Aldin is accused of planning and supervising the assassination. Other suspects named in the indictment include Hassan Issa, Assad Sabra and Hezbollah member Salim Ayyash.

Ayyash, also known as "Abu Salim," holds US citizenship and allegedly orchestrated the murder and participated in the operation itself.

If the reports prove to be true, the new government, headed by businessman Najib Mikati, will be put to the test, as Hezbollah holds considerable power in the current cabinet.

Hariri's son and outgoing prime minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri, responded to the reports by saying that "justice has won; now no one can evade responsibility".

"The murderers' time is coming to an end. This is an historical moment and a victory for Lebanon, international justice, and the souls of the fallen," he said in a statement published by his office.

Hezbollah's al-Manar television said on Thursday the indictments over the killing of statesman Rafik al-Hariri show the tribunal seeking his killers "is politicized".