Rumors spiral over chief in Hariri probe

BEIRUT, Lebanon, April 7 (UPI) -- Reports that the head of a U.N. team investigating the assassination of a former Lebanese prime minister is stepping down are false, representatives say.

Lebanese newspaper L'Orient Le Jour reported Tuesday that Daniel Bellemare, the Canadian chief prosecutor for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he would leave his post if his investigation became politicized.

The STL is tasked with investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria and Lebanese movement Hezbollah are accused of playing a role in the plot to kill Hariri.

Radhi Achouri, a spokesperson for Bellemare, said the claims are "untrue" and that the chief prosecutor was "as committed as ever to his mission," Lebanon's Daily Star newspaper reports.

The report added that Bellemare was ramping up his activities in seeking indictments in the case.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah acknowledged in an interview last week that members of his organization were interviewed by the U.N.-backed panel as "witnesses."

Syrian generals linked to the probe were released last year. A 2009 report in German news magazine Der Spiegel said cellphone records linked Hezbollah operatives to the planning of the operation. Hezbollah said it has no links to the plot.