Saad Hariri says he holds Hezbollah responsible for father’s murder

Hariri spoke with press in the Netherlands after the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) at Leidschendam on August 18, 2020. (AFP)

• Rafic Hariri was killed in a 2005 bombing that also claimed the lives of 21 others
• UN judge: Hezbollah “had motives to eliminate Mr. Hariri and his political allies”

LONDON: Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has said he holds Hezbollah responsible for his father’s killing, and that he “will not rest until punishment is served.” 

He made the remarks at the conclusion of a years long trial of four Hezbollah members accused of carrying out a truck bombing that killed Hariri and 21 others.

One Hezbollah member, Salim Jamil Ayyash, was found guilty of Hariri’s murder at the UN tribunal, while three more members of the Iran-backed group were acquitted.

The judges said while they had found no evidence that the Hezbollah leadership had played a direct part in the 2005 attack, there was a clear motive.

“Hezbollah may have had motives to eliminate Mr. Hariri and his political allies,” said Judge David Re.

Reacting to the trial’s outcome Tuesday, Hariri said that he accepted the judges’ verdict but still held Hezbollah responsible for his father’s murder.

“Hezbollah is the one that should make sacrifices today,” he said. “It is clear that the network responsible is from its ranks.” 

He added: “I repeat: we will not rest until punishment is served.”