Syrian leader’s brother-in-law linked to murder

THE brother-in-law of Syria’s president has been implicated in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, according to a UN inquiry.

The report that officially linked Damascus to the slaying for the first time also said that Lebanese intelligence officials helped organise it.

The exhaustive report into the February 14 car bomb that killed the popular opposition leader and 20 others stopped short of fingering Syrian President Bashar Assad or his inner circle. But it accused the regime of failing to co-operate in the inquiry and alleged Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk al-Sharaa lied in a letter to the investigating commission.