Syria on the hot seat in UN investigation

BEIRUT, Lebanon - It reads like a spy novel, laying out an elaborate web of phone calls, surveillance and even a fake assassin intended to throw investigators off the trail.

The United Nations report on the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri details months of plotting by top Syrian and Lebanese security officials. The report, which was released Oct. 20, implicates about a dozen men who are now the focus of the UN investigation.

In the coming weeks, the fate of these men could provoke a showdown between Syria and the international community. Armed with the chilling 54-page report, the United States, France and Britain lobbied for a UN resolution that threatened Syria with sanctions unless it cooperates fully with the UN probe.

The resolution, which was unanimously approved by the Security Council yesterday, requires Syria to detain any Syrian official or civilian deemed by UN investigators as a suspect in Hariri's killing.

Among those who could be detained are the brother and brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar Assad. The Syrian regime also would have to allow UN investigators to take suspects and witnesses out of the country for questioning, or o interview them inside Syria without government officials present.

If Syria does not cooperate with the UN team led by German investigator Detlev Mehlis, the Security Council could then take "further action," such as imposing economic sanctions and a ban on flights to Syria.

An early version of the UN report named Assad's brother and brother-in-law as among five Syrian officials who plotted the massive bombing that killed Hariri and 20 others in downtown Beirut. Mehlis expunged the names from the report hours before it was released, saying they were meant for the Security Council's eyes only. The men have all denied involvement in the plot and have not been detained.

In a letter sent to U.S., French and British leaders last week, Assad promised any Syrian implicated in Hariri's assassination through "concrete evidence" would face trial in Syria. But that promise is unlikely to appease Western governments. With the investigation focusing on his relatives, analysts and diplomats say Assad is unlikely to detain or turn over members of his family. And that could instigate a showdown between Syria and the United States.

"This is no longer a functioning regime," said Michael Young, a Lebanese political analyst. "This is essentially a family that is fighting for its life."

Among the key figures in the investigation:

Syrian officials

Assef Shawkat, head of Syrian military intelligence and the president's brother-in-law. As chief of military intelligence, Shawkat oversees all of Syria's domestic and foreign intelligence operations, including activities in Lebanon. Many Syrians consider him the second most powerful man in the country because of his close relationship with Assad and his consolidating of power within the Syrian military.

In the UN report's early version, Shawkat was named by a witness as the key plotter behind Hariri's killing. The report said Syrian and Lebanese security officials met several times in Shawkat's office to plot. The last meeting took place in his house "seven to 10 days before the assassination," the draft report said.

In the final report, another witness is quoted as saying that Shawkat forced a young Lebanese man named Ahmad Abu Adass to make a fake videotape 15 days before Hariri's assassination, claiming responsibility. The tape was made in the style often used by Islamic suicide bombers. It was left outside the Beirut offices of Al-Jazeera, the Arab satellite news channel, a few hours after the killing. Other witnesses told UN investigators that Abu Adass was killed by Syrian officials after he made the tape.

Maher Assad, a commander in the praetorian Republican Guard and the president's younger brother. He leads an elite brigade responsible for security in Damascus, the Syrian capital. The younger Assad is rarely seen in public.

In the draft report, Maher Assad was named among the officials who met in Shawkat's office and home to plot Hariri's killing. The final report deleted the names and described the plotters as "senior Lebanese and Syrian officials." It said the officials decided to kill Hariri in September 2004, two weeks after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution demanding that Syria withdraw the thousands of troops it had kept in Lebanon since 1976. Hariri had lobbied U.S. and French officials behind-the-scenes to draft the measure.

Hassan Khalil, former head of Syrian military intelligence. He retired four days after Hariri's assassination and was replaced by Shawkat, who had been deputy chief of intelligence. At the time, Syrian officials said Khalil was due to retire because he had reached age 65. But many Syrians think he was forced to step aside as part of an effort by the president to install his most trusted relatives in key positions. Khalil was named as one of the plotters in the draft report, and his name was deleted from the final version.

Bahjat Suleiman, former head of Syrian internal security, a key intelligence branch. He retired in August, also under pressure from the president. Suleiman was named as one of the plotters in the draft report.

Rustom Ghazaleh, former head of Syrian intelligence in Lebanon. From his appointment as intelligence chief in January 2003 until Syrian forces withdrew in April, Ghazaleh was virtually the Syrian proconsul in Lebanon. He summoned Lebanese politicians to his office in Anjar, an ancient town in the Bekaa Valley, and gave them instructions. He handpicked most Lebanese security chiefs and they reported to him, instead of to the Lebanese government. In turn, Ghazaleh reported to Shawkat in Damascus.

In a sign of his dominance over Lebanon, Ghazaleh is the most frequently mentioned Syrian official in the UN report. One witness told investigators that Ghazaleh coordinated the bombing logistics with the top four Lebanese security officials.