Raymond Azar Explained

Raymond Azar
Birth Name:Raymond Azar
Birth Place:Jezzine, Lebanon
Nationality:Lebanese
Occupation:General and former head of military intelligence

Raymond Azar (Arabic: رايموند أزار; born 1953) was the head of the Lebanese military intelligence.

Early life and education

Raymond Azar was born into a Maronite family in the mostly Christian village of Machmouche in 1953.[1] He studied to be a priest before joining the army.[1]

Career

Azar was appointed to head of military intelligence in 1998 when Emile Lahoud was elected president.[1] He was at this post at the time of Hariri assassination.[1]

Controversy

Raymond Azar fell under suspicion of playing a role in the 2005 assassination of Rafiq Hariri a former prime minister of Lebanon.[2] The Mehlis report included a witness as indicating that Azar, like Mustafa Hamdan, provided logistical support for the assassination.[1] He and other three generals including Jamil Al Sayyed were arrested on 30 August 2005.[3] They were held in Roumieh prison, northeast of Beirut from 2005 to April 2009.[4] [5] It is argued that first loyalty of all four generals was to Syrian government rather than Lebanese government.[6] They all were released in April 2009 due to lack of evidence.[4] [7] [8]

Notes and References

  1. News: FACTBOX: Lebanese generals ordered released by Hariri court. 1 July 2012. Reuters. 29 April 2009.
  2. News: Jamil Sayyed to Saad Hariri: You Are Your Dad's Killer till You Punish Forgers. Jamil Al Sayyed was among four top generals who were released in April after four years in custody in connection with Hariri's assassination, no one has ever been formally charged. The other three are the former head of the presidential guard, Mustafa Hamdan, former internal security chief Ali Al Hajj, and military intelligence chief Raymond Azar.. 21 September 2009. Champress. 21 September 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20090901055533/http://www.champress.net/index.php?q=en%2FArticle%2Fview%2F43259. 1 September 2009.
  3. Book: Mallat, Chibli. Lebanon's Cedar Revolution An essay on non-violence and justice. Mallat. 122. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120202044246/http://mallat.com/books/Appendix1%20and%202.pdf. 2 February 2012.
  4. News: Jamil as-Sayyed. 29 June 2012. Now Lebanon. 31 August 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110419172256/http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArchiveDetails.aspx?ID=111681. 19 April 2011.
  5. News: Jamil al Sayyed celebrates photos. 29 June 2012. USA Today. 29 April 2009.
  6. News: Fisk. Robert. Who killed Mr Lebanon?: The hunt for Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri's assassins. 1 July 2012. The Independent. London. 11 January 2009.
  7. News: Muir. Jim. Deep divisions haunt Lebanese politics. 30 June 2012. BBC. 22 September 2010.
  8. Web site: Hariri's Damascus Trip Complicated By Syrian Warrants For Lebanese Officials. Wikileaks. 30 June 2012. 14 December 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20131230234746/http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=09BEIRUT1318. 30 December 2013.

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