Jumblatt questions credibility of STL

Lebanon’s Druze leader Walid Jumblatt has cast doubt on the credibility of a US-sponsored tribunal investigating the assassination of former Lebanese Premier Rafiq Hariri amid a political crisis in the country.

“We wonder whether the tribunal is credible after the latest broadcasts,” said the Progressive Socialist Party leader on Wednesday.

Jumblatt’s remarks came in regard to a statement released by the office of prosecutors from the US-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) condemning a recent leakage of “confidential STL information,” Lebanon’s Naharnet reported.

Lebanon’s al-Jadid TV broadcast what appeared to be a 2007 meeting between Saad Hariri, the then leader of Furure Movement and present-day caretaker premier, and investigators from the tribunal on Sunday night.

Prosecutor Daniel A. Bellemare said he was very concerned about the recent “unauthorized broadcasts” and would launch an investigation into the issue.

“This material is confidential and protected information and was made public in breach of the law,” the prosecutor added.

The Druze leader has also warned against the critical situation in the country which stemmed from allegations made by the US-backed court against the Hezbollah movement.

Jumblatt described the current political situation as “highly sensitive,” saying, “Dialogue remains the only option to solve outstanding problems and end the current crisis.”

Hezbollah ministers resigned from Hariri’s cabinet over the allegations they described as a conspiracy by the United States and Israel.

The resignation brought down Hariri’s government last Wednesday.

Unconfirmed reports have said the US-sponsored STL will name some Hezbollah members in connection with the massive car bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on the Beirut seafront in February 2005.

The tribunal, created two years after Hariri’s assassination and supported by the US government, has sparked tensions plunging the country into its worst political crisis since 2008.