| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Jamil al-Sayyed Denies U.S. Accusation of Money Smuggling |
| 2021-10-30 |
| [An Nahar] Former security chief and current member of parliament, Jamil al-Sayyed ... who is owned by the government of Syria, but presently rented out to Hezbollah... , denied accusations on Friday that he smuggled tens of millions of dollars out of his crisis-hit country.He challenged his accusers to reveal the name of a government official whom they said helped him transfer the funds. Al-Sayyed, ally of Hizbullah ... Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistanceand purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory... , was sanctioned Thursday along with two Lebanese businessmen by the U.S. Treasury Department. The U.S. agency said al-Sayyed sought to skirt informal capital controls imposed by local banks since November 2019, and was aided by a senior government official in transferring over $120 million to overseas investments, presumably to enrich himself and his associates. The statement did not name the government official. The Treasury Department also said al-Sayyed had contributed to the breakdown of the rule of law in Leb  ...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. ..., citing his urging of security forces to kill protesters who gathered outside his home. Speaking during a news conference in Beirut, al-Sayyed denied all the charges, adding that he is ready to go to the United States to be questioned there and defend himself. "I challenge them to grant me a (U.S.) visa to go. I will go tomorrow and will face them," al-Sayyed said, adding that if the funds were discovered in "any corner of the world ... they can keep me in jail there." "Who is the senior government official? Since you said he is a senior government official, release his name so that we know who he is. Why didn't you accuse him?" al-Sayyed asked. He also challenged the Treasury Department to say where the money was transferred and invested. Al-Sayyed said that in June 2020, a group of protesters gathered outside his apartment building, causing a mess and trying to break in. The politician said his pregnant daughter was at home during the incident, and he told the guards "to open fire" if anyone breaks into the apartment. He added that in any country in the world, a person has the right to defend himself if someone tried to break into his home. Al-Sayyed was among four pro-Syrian generals tossed in the slammer Please don't kill me! without charge for nearly four years over the 2005 liquidation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. al-Sayyed and the three other generals were freed in 2009 for lack of evidence. The politician said he visited La Belle France this year while he was preparing to file a lawsuit at the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... to demand "compensation and apology" over the time he spent in jail. al-Sayyed said that he wanted to prove that at the time when he was in detention, then U.S. ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman was putting pressure on U.N. officials to keep him in jail. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| U.S. Sanctions Jamil al-Sayyed, Jihad al-Arab, Dany Khoury |
| 2021-10-29 |
| [An Nahar] The U.S. Treasury on Thursday slapped sanctions on prominent Lebanese tycoons Jihad al-Arab and Dany Khoury and politician Jamil al-Sayyed ... who is owned by the government of Syria, but presently rented out to Hezbollah... for allegedly benefitting from corruption and adding to the breakdown of the rule of law in the country.The three "have each personally profited from the pervasive corruption and cronyism in Leb ...In 2006 unknown persons blew up Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the car he was traveling in, the road he was traveling on, and a few innocent bystanders of no account whatsoever. The person or persons unknow weren't Hezbollah, you can bet on that. Really. Even though there was an international tribunal that said it was them..., enriching themselves at the expense of the Lebanese people and state institutions," the U.S. Treasury said. "While the Lebanese people face daily struggles to access basic public goods, including medicine, electricity, and food, during a historic and devastating economic crisis, members of the Lebanese political class and their cronies operate with impunity to enrich themselves and hide their wealth," the Treasury said in a statement. The Treasury said al-Arab has used close political connections and kickback payments to win important public contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars in which he overbilled the government and, in an emergency deal to address Beirut's 2016 garbage crisis, did not resolve the problem. The Treasury also said he won two government contracts worth $200 million after brokering a political deal in 2014 ahead of elections. Khoury, it said, used his ties to already-sanctioned Free Patriotic Movement Despite its name a Christian party allied with Hizbullah, neither free nor particularly patriotic... chief Jebran Bassil to reap lucrative contracts "while failing to meaningfully fulfill the terms of those contracts." "Khoury and his company have been accused of dumping toxic waste and refuse into the Mediterranean Sea, poisoning fisheries, and polluting Lebanon’s beaches, all while failing to remedy the garbage crisis," it said. Sayyed, meanwhile, was accused of skirting banking regulations to move $120 million offshore. Related: Jamil al-Sayyed: 2010-10-02 Sayyed Appeals to STL Urgently Demanding it to Reject Bellemare's Request Jamil al-Sayyed: 2010-09-26 Syrian Judiciary Prepares Arrest Warrants against those being Sued by Sayyed Jamil al-Sayyed: 2010-09-25 ISF: Sayyed Telephoned Hasan after Hariri's Assassination and Not Other Way Round |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Sayyed Appeals to STL Urgently Demanding it to Reject Bellemare's Request |
| 2010-10-02 |
| [An Nahar] Major General Jamil al-Sayyed ... who is owned by the government of Syria, but presently rented out to Hezbullies... has appealed on Friday against Special Tribunal for Leb Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare's order to suspend Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen's ruling on his request to access certain documents linked to fat red herrings and maybe smelt. Sayyed's press office issued a statement saying that Sayyed's lawyer, Akram Azouri, had made a counter appeal urgently demanding the STL to reject Bellemare's demand and continue with Fransen's ruling. He has also requested to be provided with the names of judges on the appeals body so that he may ask for the stepping down of Lebanese judges if any are part of the body, seeing as Sayyed and Lebanese Judge Ralph Riachy have a personal dispute. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Syrian Judiciary Prepares Arrest Warrants against those being Sued by Sayyed |
| 2010-09-26 |
| [An Nahar] The Syrian judiciary is preparing arrest warrants against individuals former General Security chief Jamil al-Sayyed has filed lawsuits against, reported Ad Diyar on Saturday. It said that the judiciary is waiting for the appropriate time to send the warrant to its Lebanese counterpart. If the Lebanese judiciary does not comply with the Syrian demand, then Syria will take the appropriate measures to have Interpol issue arrest warrants against those individuals. The 14 individuals, who were mentioned during Sayyed's recent press conference, include former head of the U.N. commission investigating ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination Detlev Mehlis and former minister Marwan Hamadeh. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| ISF: Sayyed Telephoned Hasan after Hariri's Assassination and Not Other Way Round |
| 2010-09-25 |
| [An Nahar] The Internal Security Forces General Directorate refuted on Friday former General Security chief Major General Jamil al-Sayyed's recent statements in which he said that police intelligence chief Col. Wissam al-Hasan had telephoned him on the morning of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005. It said in a statement: "By reviewing the data of phone calls from Col. Hasan's phone, it was revealed that Maj. Gen. Sayyed was the one who telephone Hasan ... and not the other way round." It added that the call took place at 5:05pm, which was after Hariri's assassination, "which raises questions over the accuracy and credibility of Sayyed's statements." |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| March 14: Remaining Silent over Airport Invasion is Another Crime |
| 2010-09-23 |
| [An Nahar] The March 14 General Secretariat stressed on Wednesday that remaining silent over "the other team's invasion of the Rafik Hariri International Airport" is another crime. It said in a statement after its weekly meeting: "The other team's crisis has reached its peak and another dead-end in that it is placing the state and all its legitimate institutions before a test for existence." It demanded the concerned authorities to go through with the legal procedures against former General Security chief Major General Jamil al-Sayyed "in order for them to maintain their credibility and in accordance with the law and constitution." "Going back on any of these measures will confirm the victory of the militia mentality over that of the state," the statement continued. It described the current dispute as a fateful one between those who want the rise of the state and others who don't, rejecting claims that it is a sectarian conflict. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| 'Saad Hariri meddling in UN tribunal' |
| 2010-09-20 |
| [Iran Press TV] A former Lebanese official has accused Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri of presenting false witnesses to the UN tribunal investigating the murder of his father Rafiq Hariri. The former director of General Security, Major General Jamil al-Sayyed, said Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and other figures known to have close relations with Hariri were also involved in introducing the witnesses into the investigation, Press TV's correspondent in Beirut, Ali Rizk, reported on Saturday. Hariri was killed along with more than 20 other people in a massive car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005. The United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society Special Tribunal for Leb (STL) was subsequently set up by the world body and the Lebanese government in May 2007 to investigate the assassination. Sayyed said that Rafiq Hariri's death was being exploited to fight Syria and the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbullies. Hariri reportedly informed Hezbullies Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah in July that that the STL would implicate some Hezbullies members. But Hezbullies categorically rejected the allegations and called the tribunal an "Israeli project." Hariri has pledged "not to allow my father's blood to stir disunity in Leb." The former general was one of four senior Lebanese military and security officials who were imprisoned without charge over the assassination and released three years and eight months later without any explanation. He is now in Beirut in response to the state prosecutor's decision to summon him for questioning. Hezbullies has expressed support for Sayyed and has asked Mirza to cancel his decision to interrogate Sayyed. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Ex-Gen. gains 'access to STL evidence' |
| 2010-09-20 |
| [Iran Press TV] A former Lebanese general has claimed that the UN tribunal looking into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri has given him access to evidence in the case. Former director of General Security Major General Jamil al-Sayyed said on Sunday that the Special Tribunal for Leb (STL) has placed the evidence it has gathered at his disposal. "Yesterday [Daniel] Fransen issued a ruling. Fransen said, 'Jamil Sayyed, you have the right to request evidence from us and we have the authority to look into the matter,'" the former general quoted one of the UN justices as saying. Hariri was killed in a massive car bombing in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on February 14, 2005. Sayyed was among the four senior Lebanese military and security officials who were incarcerated without being charged over the assassination and released three years and eight months later without any explanation. The former Lebanese official has accused Hariri's son and successor Saad al-Hariri, Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza and other figures known to have close relations with the late prime minister of presenting the UN tribunal with false witnesses. "Listen to what he's saying. Fransen did not tell me in his decision, 'there are no false witnesses, Jamil El-Sayed.' Fransen's decision is a ruling against you, Saad Hariri. It's a ruling against you, Saeed Mirza...," Rooters reported. Sayyed claims Hariri's assassination is being exploited by Beirut to fight Syria and the Hezbullies resistance movement. "Sheikh Saad, this case will not end until we find the truth and announce it to everyone -- and to punish all those criminals who you are protecting," he said addressing the premier. In July Hezbullies Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah revealed that he had been informed by Hariri of the STL's plan to implicate a number of the resistance movement's members in connection with the case. Hezbullies categorically rejects the allegations and has called the tribunal an "Israeli project." Prosecutor Mirza has summoned Sayyed to Beirut for questioning. Hezbullies has expressed support for Sayyed and has asked Mirza to cancel his decision to interrogate Sayyed. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Houri: Hizbullah Supports those Who Threaten the Sunni Leader in Lebanon |
| 2010-09-18 |
| [An Nahar] Mustaqbal bloc MP Ammar Houri described on Friday Hizbullah's latest statement as the worst that it has issued so far, especially since "it threatens the leader of the Sunnis in Leb." He told Voice of Leb radio that Hizbullah's campaign against the Special Tribunal for Leb falls within a political framework, adding that the tribunal has once again proven its credibility through its high degree of professionalism. Addressing Hizbullah's defense of former General Security chief Major General Jamil al-Sayyed, the MP said that the party is defending the official against Prime Minister Saad Hariri. He called on Hizbullah to "reconsider several of its positions because its current actions do not serve any side." "It seems that whenever we thwart strife, Hizbullah seeks to reignite it," Houri noted. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Aoun: I Demand Citizens Not to Obey the Police Intelligence Bureau because it is an Armed Gang |
| 2010-09-15 |
| [An Nahar] Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hizbullah, criticized on Tuesday the Police Intelligence Bureau and General Prosecution calling them an "armed gang" demanding citizens not to obey them. He stressed that the intelligence bureau does not abide by the laws, wondering who it answers to and who monitors its budget. The MP said after the movement's weekly meeting: "Talk of a state is a big lie because this is a failed state and there are great efforts to destroy it." Addressing former Genereal Security chief Jamil al-Sayyed's recent positions regarding the investigation in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Aoun demanded that House Speaker Nabih KnobbyBerri, the Hizbullah sock puppet form a parliamentary investigation committee to investigate with General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, Internal Security Forces chief Ashraf Rifi, and head of the Intelligence Bureau Wissam al-Hasan because they followed up on the investigation in the crime. He said that Sayyed can stand trial before the committee along with those he accused in order to reach solutions in the false witnesses file in Hariri's assassination. |
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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Egyptian Embassy: Sayyed's Allegations are Unacceptable Incitements |
| 2010-09-14 |
| [An Nahar] The Egyptian Embassy in Lebanon voiced on Monday its surprise with former General Security chief Jamil al-Sayyed's recent statements that "included baseless claims and incitements against embassy employees." It stressed in a statement: "Egyptian diplomats meet Lebanese officials of different political views within their legal and legitimate work on Lebanese land." "Major General Sayyed's false claims are unacceptable, illegal, and immoral incitement against embassy diplomats and it holds him completely legally responsible for any attack against any embassy employee," the statement added. |
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