Mehlis report
The Mehlis Report is the United Nations investigation into the February 14, 2005 assassination of Lebanon’s former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. The inquiry, started under UN Security Council Resolution 1595 and led by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, questioned Lebanese and Syrian officials. It should not be confused with the FitzGerald Report. The final draft, released on October 20, 2005, concluded that high-ranking Syrian and Lebanese government members were involved in the killing. The findings were based on witness accounts and other evidence, including patterns of prepaid phone-card calls linking officials to the crime.
After the first report, the investigation period was extended to December 15, 2005. A second report with additional findings followed on December 10, 2005. On December 15, the UN Security Council extended the investigation again to June 15, 2006. Mehlis stepped down and was replaced by Serge Brammertz on January 11, 2006.
The official Mehlis Report did not name specific Syrian officials, though an early leaked Word document reportedly did name several high-ranking Syrian and Lebanese figures. Mehlis denied outside influence on the report. The motive for removing the names is not known.
The case faced controversy when a key witness, Hussam Taher Hussam, publicly recanted his testimony, claiming he had been bribed and tortured. The December 10 report noted that Syrian officials had arrested and threatened Hussam’s relatives in Syria. A second witness, Zuhair Ibn Muhammad Said Saddik, later changed his testimony and was arrested in Paris on a Mehlis‑related request; the UN commission later questioned Saddik’s reliability.
Nawar Habib Donna, a Tripoli phone dealer who sold five prepaid cards connected to the attack, died in a car accident in November 2005. A novel titled The Mehlis Report appeared in Arabic soon after the preliminary findings were released.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 06:27 (CET).