The leader of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah questioned Sunday the work of the United Nations tribunal for Lebanon, a few days after saying that some members of his group may be indicted in the murder of former premier Rafik al-Hariri, dpa reported.
"The (UN) investigating committee had, since Day 1, worked on one assumption. It has fabricated an accusation and came out with a ruling and then went ahead to seek evidence," Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah said in footage aired on the movement's television channel Al Manar.
He said the truth should be determined through a "transparent, technical and scientific probe."
"Should an investigation committee made of Americans and the British government, where investigating officers are brought from intelligence services closely linked to the Israeli (intelligence) Mossad, be entrusted with a big issue at this level?" he asked.
Nasrallah had said on Thursday that he was told the tribunal would indict some Hezbollah members for Hariri's murder.
The tribunal was established in 2007 to try suspects in the 2005 assassination of Hariri, the father of current premier Saad Hariri.
The elder Hariri was killed in a massive bomb blast in Beirut, along with 20 other people. His allies have accused Syria and its followers in Lebanon of being behind the murder, a charge Damascus has denied.
"We want to achieve justice, but not at the cost of the resistance (Hezbollah)," Nasrallah said, adding that his movement will not allow anyone to "defame its image."
According to a Lebanese judicial source, the tribunal will be issuing at least two rounds of indictments, in September and around the end of this year.
Lebanese media reports said that UN prosecutor Daniel Bellemare will first indict "three to five members of Hezbollah, and in the second round about 20 with various ranks, including some key officials."
The reports added that Bellemare was informed by Lebanese military leaders in an informal way that the army would not arrest any members of Hezbollah should they be indicted.
News of the possible indictments have raised fears in Lebanon that the country's security situation will deteriorate.