Syrian rebels kidnap 'false witness' in Hariri trial

he video grab shows Hussam captured by Syrian gunmen A Syrian national who recanted his testimony over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri was arrested by Syrian rebels, with his captors promising to hand him over to his son, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, in a video posted on YouTube Sunday.
The group said it was part of the brigades that stormed the Syrian capital Damascus.
“We, from the Storming of Damascus Brigade, were able with the help of God to arrest Hussam Hussam yesterday (Saturday),” a speaker in the YouTube video said. The commander was surrounded by gunmen and 36-year-old Hussam sat on his left.
Hussam said in the footage that he was arrested by members of the Free Syrian Army on the Mezzeh highway in Damascus.
In a phone interview with LBCI television, the same rebel commander, who identified himself as Abu Ali al-Doumani, confirmed the location of the capture.  Al-Doumani associated his group to the Free Syrian Army and said he was the leader of "the operation to storm Damascus".
Asked by the speaker whether he had information on the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri, Hussam said: “Just let me reach Beirut and I will reveal surprises that you have never dreamed of.”
Addressing Saad Hariri, the speaker said: “In my name and the name of the revolutionaries of Damascus and Syria, we will send you a gift, that is Hussam Hussam.”
Al-Doumani told LBCI that his group was in contact with former Prime Minister  Saad Hariri and that it intends to hand over Hussam to Lebanon.               
Hussam gave a testimony in 2005 to the UN International Independent Investigation Commission which was probing the assassination of the former statesman. He said that Syrian and Lebanese security chiefs were involved in the bombing that claimed the lives of Rafiq Hariri and 22 others.
A few months later, Hussam held a news conference in Damascus, recanting his testimony and lashing out at Saad Hariri and the March 14 coalition.
In August 2010, Hussam backed claims by Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah that an Israeli agent identified as Ghassan al-Jidd was present at the bombing scene on the Beirut seafront in February 2005.
Hussam told Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV station that al-Jidd was near HSBC Bank -- which is only 400 metres away from the blast scene -- when the bombing went off.
Hussam had claimed he had been coerced into fingering Syria in Hariri's murder.
The Hezbollah-led March 8 coalition dubs Hussam along with Mohammad Zuheir al-Siddiq and others as “false witnesses” who have mislead the international investigation into Hariri’s assassination.
The UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon tasked with probing Hariri’s assassination said Thursday it had set a provisional date in March next year to begin a trial over the 2005 bomb attack.
The trial was tentatively scheduled to start on March 25, 2013, the STL said in a statement, although the four defendants remain at large.
In June 2011, the Netherlands-based court issued arrest warrants for four members of Hezbollah: Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hussein Anaissi, and Assad Sabra.
Interpol has also issued a "red notice" on the suspects, but so far the Lebanese authorities have failed to arrest them and Hezbollah has denied responsibility.