LONDON, July 21 (UPI) -- Amnesty International is calling on Damascus to release Ziad Ramadan, a witness in the case of the 2005 slaying of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
A massive bomb ripped through downtown Beirut in February 2005, killing Hariri and several others traveling in his motorcade. Syrian sympathizers are blamed for the attack and the United Nations has backed a special tribunal to examine the assassination.
Amnesty called on Syrian President Bashar Assad to order the release of Ramadan. The group said it believes Ramadan, a Syrian national, is held at the Palestine Branch of Syrian Military Intelligence, where it claims torture is common.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon told Amnesty in May that Ramadan was not a suspect but may have links to persons of interest in the Hariri investigation. The tribunal has not ordered his detention.
Ramadan was released by Lebanese authorities in 2005 and returned to Syria, where he was arrested by intelligence officials.
Damascus says it will put Ramadan on trial for terrorism charges, but Amnesty claims he remains in custody without charge.
The group said it had contacted officials in Damascus but received no response.
