Who is Salim Ayyash, the accused of Rafic Hariri’s assassination?

Shafaq News / U.N.-backed court on Tuesday convicted a Hezbollah member, Salim Ayyash in the 2005 assassination of the former Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri, while three accused were acquitted.

The prosecution list said that Ayyash was a military official in Hezbollah, who  was "responsible for the cell that carried out the assassination and personally participated in the execution."

Judge David Ray read out the verdict convicting Ayyash on five charges, which are:

·        Conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act;

·        Committing a terrorist act by means of an explosive device;

·        Intentional homicide of Rafic Hariri with premeditation by using explosive materials;

·        Intentional homicide of 21 other persons with premeditation by using explosive materials;

·        Attempted intentional homicide of 226 persons with premeditation by using explosive materials.

Who is Salim Ayyash?

Ayyash was born on November 10, 1963, and had lived south of Beirut on Al-Jamous Street in the Tabaja building, according to the website of the Special Court for Lebanon..

He also lived in the Ayyash family compound in the Nabatiyeh, Harouf, in southern Lebanon.

Despite the issuance of a warrant to arrest Ayyash, he is still at large, and on February 1, 2012, the First Instance Chamber decided to try Salim Jamil Ayyash and three others in absentia.

According to the indictment against Ayyash, the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri was assassinated at the time (12:55 Beirut local time) on February 14, 2005, and this happened in the port of Al-Hosn in Beirut as a result of a terrorist act in which a suicide bomber detonated a huge amount of explosives hidden in a vehicle, which led to the death of Al-Hariri and 21 other people, and about 226 injured.

His relationship with Mustafa Badr al-Din

According to the lawsuit, Ayyash was in constant cooperation and coordination with Hezbollah’s military leader, Mustafa Badr al-Din, nicknamed “Zulfiqar” or “Sami Issa,” who was born in Beirut in 1961.

It was announced that Badr al-Din was killed in Damascus, on May 13, 2016.

According to the court, Ayyash coordinated with Badr al-Din in the attacks that caused the killing of Ghazi Abu Krum, George Hawi and Khaled Mora, and the attempt to kill Elias al-Murr and Marwan Hamade.

Ayyash used a special cellular communications network was used to facilitate the attacks by iusingby colors, the yellow and green cell were designated to attack Marwan Hamadeh, and the blue cell to attack George Hawi and Elias Al-Murr.