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 appeared on the recording has been identified as Ahmad Abu Adas, a resident of Beirut, age 22.

38. On the same date, 14 February 2005, at 1411:25 hours, a consultant with Reuters news agency received a call from a male caller whom she described as not having a Lebanese accent but "using a false Palestinian accent". She stated that the caller, who had been shouting in an authoritative voice, told her to "write down, write down and don’t talk" and that "we are the Nasra and Jihad Group in Greater Syria, on this day have we given due punishment to the infidel Rafik Hariri so that he may be an example to others of his sort". On the instruction of an employee (Reuters), the contents of this call were not released because the call could not be authenticated.

39. Of the five calls made to Al-Jazeera and Reuters, the location/origin has been established for four. All locations identified by the police were public telephones in the city of Beirut. The placing of the videotape by a person or persons associated with the killing of Mr. Hariri provided the security forces with an important avenue of investigation. However, the investigation authorities did little to investigate this aspect. Closed circuit television (CCTV) in two critical locations established by members of the Mission was never investigated, witnesses working in the area identified by the Mission were not interviewed, and the most basic investigations were not carried out. Those responsible for this element of the investigation displayed gross negligence.

The suspect
40. Mr. Abu Adas, a male of Palestinian origin, was born in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) on 29 August 1982 and came to Lebanon with his family in 1991. He is the son of Taysir Abu Adas and Nehad Moussa Nafeh. He has two sisters, both living in Beirut, and one brother, who is currently residing in Germany. He was unemployed. Investigations show that at approximately 0700 hours, on 16 January 2005, Mr. Abu Adas left his home at Iskandarani Building 6, first floor, Arab University District, in the city of Beirut, and was officially reported missing on 19 January 2005.

41. Enquiries carried out by the Mission established that approximately three years before, Mr. Abu Adas had changed from being a carefree teenager and became a religious fundamentalist. Approximately one month prior to being reported missing, Mr. Abu Adas had informed his family that he had met a new friend at the Al-Huri mosque, where he sometimes led the prayers. Information from the mother of Mr. Abu Adas suggested that at approximately 2100 hours on 15 January 2005, the "new friend" made a telephone call to the Abu Adas home and told Mr. Abu Adas that he would be calling for him at 0700 hours on 16 January saying that he had a surprise for Mr. Abu Adas. The mother claimed that at approximately 0700 hours on 16 January someone called for Mr. Abu Adas, alerting him by blowing on a car horn outside the apartment; she further stated that Mr. Abu Adas, who had already been up for prayer, called to ask her for some money and that he took only 2,000 Lebanese liras (approximately one dollar and 33 cents) and said that he would be only a few hours. She also stated that Mr. Abu Adas had asked her to apologize to another friend that he had made an appointment with on that date.

42. On 14 February 2005 the Abu Adas family were watching TV when Al-Jazeera broadcast the videotape showing Mr. Abu Adas claiming responsibility for the killing of Mr. Hariri on behalf of the group Nasra and Jihad in Greater Syria. At