Foreign and Military Affairs

China calls for just probe of Hariri's assassination

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-07-05 20:47

BEIJING - A foreign ministry spokesman on Tuesday called for an objective and just investigation of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassination.

Spokesman Hong Lei said at a press conference that China hopes the ruling of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is overseeing the investigation, can help restore judicial justice and national reconciliation as well as the peace and stability in the Middle East.

The STL submitted a sealed indictment to Lebanese authorities this week. Judicial leaks have reportedly said the indictment names four Hezbollah members, confirming earlier reports that the U.N.- backed court was bracing to point the finger at members of the Lebanese group.

The leader of the Lebanese Shiite armed group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, on Saturday described as "unjust" the accusations against the four members of his party over involvement in the assassination on Rafik Hariri, adding that a prominent CIA agent was part of the team of investigators looking into the seaside bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005, which killed Hariri along with 22 others.

The tribunal was set up in the Hague in 2009 under a UN resolution, for which the United States has been offering its political and financial support.