The second Mehlis Report on the assassination of Rafik Hariri by Syrian and Lebanese security authorities has been released. You can download the PDF here.

I know my headline makes it sound like a bad sequel, but this one actually goes beyond its predecessor, delving into a new depth of intrigue and plot twists. Yet the ending still remains the same. The Syrian regime and its allies in the Lebanese security apparatus have been further implicated in the slaying and have been further shown to be uncooperative with the investigation. This despite the unanimous demands of the UN Security Council.

The investigators and analysts are still pouring over tens of thousands of pages of documents, witness testimony, and physical evidence in order to determine further leads to pursue, and the commission agrees with the Lebanese authorities that even more time is needed to make sure that not one corner is left unsearched. However, certain progress has been made, as already 19 individuals have been implicated as suspects in the assassination.

21. UNIIIC, in close cooperation with the Lebanese judicial authorities, has to date identified 19 individuals as “suspects” in this investigation, indicating that, based on the evidence accumulated to date, there is reason to believe that these individuals may have been involved in some way in the planning or execution of this crime or engaged in deliverate attempts to mislead the investigation as to its perpetrators. These individuals have been advised of their status as suspects and are presumed innocent until proven guilty after trial. When interviewed, they have been accorded the rights that suspects enjoy under Lebanese law.

The rest of the document goes into detail about witnesses interviewed and further investigations of evidence presented in the previous report. One of the more interesting wrap-ups was the interview of Husam Taher Husam, who gave testimony for the previous report that implicated the Syrian regime. Soon afterward, at the behest of the Syrian Judicial Commission, he surfaced in the country on Syrian state television making a statement that the Mehlis commission had coerced him to make the statements, saying he had been drugged. Well, the Mehlis commission did some investigation into just why he would so suddenly refuted all that he had said.

30. Ä…Å The Commission has also received credible information that, prior to Mr. Hussam’s recent public recantation of his statement to UNIIC, Syrian officials had arrested and threatened some of Mr. Hussam’s close relatives in Syria. Preliminary investigation leads to a conclusion that Mr. Hussam is being manipulated by the Syrian authorities, raising serious questions about whether the Syrian Judicial Commission is committed to conducting an independent, transparent, and professional investigation into this crime.

(Further interesting reading would be sub-section 73 on further investigations into leads that have not been properly dealt with, and section IV, which deals with the current reports conclusions and what needs to happen now)

That’s what its like to live under a praetorian regime. It is government at its worst, delighting in the concealment of the truth and the deferment of justice. But is it delight, or is it fear? All governments that rule with authoritarianism are fearful, because they know they are doing something wrong, and are afraid of what their people and the rest of the world will due to them if they show signs of weakness.

Unfortunately for the Assad government, those signs of weakness, or even terminal illness, appeared on February 14. The targeted assassinations and refusal to reform are signs that it is losing its grip on power and is desperate to save itself from justice. Authoritarianism, in itself, is a sign of weakness, and that needs to be recognized when deciding who is in highest position of power to effect change.

The Commission has recommended that it be extended by an additional six months in order to investigate further leads. Meanwhile, with the assassination of Gebran Tueni yesterday, the Lebanese cabinet has rejected objected by the Shiite ministers and have called for an international tribunal to judge the murderers. The perpetrators must be tried and sentenced with full truth and justice. This event would not only dismember Syria internationally, but solidify Lebanon as a nation after so many years of civil war and occupation. The conclusion of this investigation is tantamount to preventing Lebanon from falling into political disarray again.