Legal war erupts between Lebanon and Syria

Former Lebanese PM Saad al-Hariri is subject to a Syrian arrest warrant A war of legal documents has broken out between Beirut and Damascus, after the Syrian judicial authorities issued an arrest warrant against three senior leaders accusing them of helping the armed resistance with funds from foreign countries.
The authorities delivered legal writs for former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri, Future Movement MP Okab Saqr and Free Syrian Army media coordinator Luay al-Miqdad on Tuesday afternoon.
The arrest warrants came after the Lebanese State Commissioner told the Military Court to expand its investigation into the case of the former minister Michel Samaha, accused of transferring explosives from Syria to Lebanon. The commissioner called for the questioning of Syrian officials including Syrian security chief General, Ali Mamlouk, his assistant Colonel Adnan, and Syrian President Bashar Assad\'s media adviser, Buthaina Shaaban.
The Syrian authorities did not issue any statements about this but the office of Interpol in the Lebanese Internal Security Forces received three arrest warrants from the judicial authorities in Damascus via the Internet, and will pass them to the Public Prosecution.
While Lebanese Justice Minister, Chakib Cartabawi denied receiving such warrants, the Interior Minister, Marwan Charbel told Arabstoday that he knew about it, asserting that \"these warrants will be forwarded before Wednesday’s noon, to the public prosecutor,\" without revealing any other details.
Speaking about the warrants, Future Movement MP, Okab Saqr said that \"the issuance of the arrest warrants by the Syrian authority was based on forged recordings which undoubtly proves that the operation was fabricated by the intelligence which used to come up with assassination plots.\"
He described the warrant was \"a medal of honour,\" saying: \"I have been added to the list of honour, which includes a number of the most wanted people by the Syrian criminal regime. The first of the wanted has been already executed; general Wesam Alhassan, who has been killed by 70 kilograms of high explosives.\"
Saqr explained that he wanted to start a tour of the Arab countries without a visa, \"because Assad’s warrant gave me an extraordinary Arab passport, while he sits with his executioners underground fleeing from the justice of the Syrian people and the arms of its rebels.\"
Another Future Movement MP, Nihad Almashnouk, pointed out that heads of security agencies know that they should provide security to prevent the occurrence of the assassinations, meaning that the government takes the responsibility for any risk that might affect any MP or political figure mentioned in the list of assassinations.
Speaking to Future channel, Almashnouk said: \"The heads of security agencies know what actions have to be taken, which have been delayed 15 days. And that delay indicates the reluctance of the government,\" while adding: “We have confidence in the efforts of the Interior Minister, Marwan Charbel, and we know that the reluctance comes from the Prime Minister. However, Charbel can take all necessary measures to protect his credibility, by protecting the figures mentioned in the list.\"
Hadi Hobeish MP said that \"the mentality that spurred the Syrian revolution is the same mentality that has taken the foolish decision of issuing the arrest warrants against Prime Minister Saad Hariri and MP Okab Saqr and Luay al-Miqdad. He added,\"who will care for a regime that kills and bombs its own people on a daily basis and issues such arrest warrants?\"
Hobeish concluded by saying that \"The Council of Arab Interior Ministers, who received the warrants, does not recognise the Syrian regime as a whole. These warrants are void and worthless. They show that the Syrian regime will soon be falling apart.\"