Human Rights Voices

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Syria Arab Republic, May 4, 2015

Syria Killed My Father: Jumblatt to Special Tribunal for Lebanon

Original source

Daily Star

Taking the stand at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Monday, MP Walid Jumblatt told the court that he was convinced Syria was behind the 1977 assassination of his father.

"It is the Syrian regime that assassinated Kamal Jumblatt," the Progressive Socialist Party chief told the The Hague-based court. Jumblatt said that he has judicial evidence that supports this conclusion.

Prior to his death, an investigative judge released a report detailing "the car that followed Kamal Jumblatt, how they stepped out of the car, how they killed him, how that car later left to the headquarters of the Syrian intelligence in Sin el-Fil," Jumblatt told the court.

Just 40 days after the death of his father, Jumblatt traveled to Syria, a decision which he explained in detail. "Based on my conviction that I am an Arab nationalist and based on the threats that were surrounding Lebanon, I had no choice but to go to Syria and to seal a deal, a political settlement, with those who assassinated Kamal Jumblatt," he said.

"When I went to see [then-Syrian President] Hafez Assad... I looked at him. I still had some hair left on my head. He said 'You look a lot like your father.' And then we sat down and he started talking... I didn't feel anything. I was surprised," he said.

Jumblatt is expected to provide evidence over the next several days detailing the domination of Syria over Lebanese political and military affairs. While five Hezbollah suspects have been charged with plotting the blast which killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the prosecution has moved towards suggesting Syrian involvement in the conspiracy.