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Hariri probe fingers top officials
RELATEDYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSUNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The latest report from U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis says investigators still believe that "top-ranked Syrian and Lebanese officials" were involved in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The investigation into the claims of witness Hussam Taher Hussam, who has been giving interviews and appearing on Syrian television recanting his testimony, is continuing, says the report. However, the report also says, "The commission has learned that, before his current trip to Syria, Mr Hussam provided to close friends an account of the assassination that was similar to the account" he provided to investigators. Also, the report adds, investigators have evidence that just before he recanted his statement, "Syrian officials had arrested and threatened some of Mr Hussam's close relatives in Syria." The 25-page report refers to the "slow pace" of Syrian cooperation, saying "it is up to the Syrian authorities to be more forthcoming in order to make headway in a process that will be most probably a long one if it is to be judged against the pace of progress to date." Since his first report, Mehlis' new report says, the investigation continues to find new elements that "reinforce" the prior conclusions. The Mehlis investigation has so far identified 19 individuals as "suspects." It called the investigation a continuing process, "in view of the fact that, over the steady evolution of an investigation of this complexity, new evidence, new leads and new witnesses come to light which necessitate careful corroboration." 
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