Back اغتيال رفيق الحريري Arabic Убийство на Рафик Харири Bulgarian Attentat auf Rafiq al-Hariri German Δολοφονία του Ραφίκ Χαρίρι Greek Asesinato de Rafiq Hariri Spanish ترور رفیق حریری Persian Assassinat de Rafiq Hariri French רצח רפיק אל-חרירי HE Assassinato de Rafik Hariri Portuguese Refik el-Hariri suikastı Turkish
| Assassination of Rafic Hariri | |
|---|---|
 A Ministry of the Interior soldier guarding the site of the assassination | |
   | |
| Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Coordinates | 33°54′07″N 35°29′40″E / 33.90194°N 35.49444°E |
| Date | 14 February 2005 |
| Target | Rafic Hariri |
Attack type | Truck bombing |
| Weapons | Truck bomb |
| Deaths | 22 |
| Injured | 220 |
| Convicted | Salim Ayyash |
On 14 February 2005, former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri was killed along with 21 others in an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms (2,200 pounds) of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel. Among the dead were several of Hariri's bodyguards and former Minister of the Economy, Bassel Fleihan.
Hariri had been part of the anti-Syrian opposition in Lebanon. His assassination triggered the Cedar Revolution, a popular movement which forced Syria to withdraw all its troops in Lebanon by April 2005.[1] The killing also led the United Nations to set up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate the killing. The Special Tribunal, along with an independent investigation carried out by Lebanese Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, found compelling evidence for the responsibility of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah in the assassination.[2][3][4] One of the investigators, Wissam Eid, was assassinated in 2008.[5]
In August 2020, judges at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon found Salim Ayyash, a mid-level operative in Hezbollah, guilty in absentia of five charges including the intentional murder of Hariri with premeditation by using explosive materials. Three other defendants were acquitted. The panel of judges concluded there was "no evidence that the Hezbollah leadership had any involvement in Hariri's murder and there is no direct evidence of Syrian involvement." Hezbollah denied any involvement and its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, refused to allow the arrest of Ayyash.[5]
- ^ Rudy Jaafar and Maria J. Stephan. (2009). "Lebanon's Independence Intifada: How an Unarmed Insurrection Expelled Syrian Forces", in Maria J. Stephan (ed.), Civilian Jihad: Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization, and Governance in the Middle East, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 169–85.
- ^ Ronen Bergman. (15 February 2015). "The Hezbollah Connection". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
- ^ "CBC Investigation: Who killed Lebanon's Rafik Hariri? – inquiry chief".
- ^ Avi Issacharoff (9 November 2010). "Report: Hariri tribunal to link top Hezbollah figures to assassination". Haaretz. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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