Exclusive Moqawama.org: Samar Al Hajj Denies False Witness’s Claims, Dares Publishing Phone Calls

In an exclusive interview with Moqawama.org, Samar Al Hajj denied the claims of false witness Akram Shakib Mourad, who said that his statements were based upon her request after she promised to get him out of jail, and later offered to pay him $100,000 and a ticket to travel abroad.

On Firday, Lebanese Al Akhbar newspaper published an interview with Akram Shakib Mourad, the false witness in the investigation of PM Rafiq Hariri's assassination.

Mourad, who said that he previously recorded a tape including an accusation convicting former Minister Marwan Hamadeh and Firas Khashan, added that he did that in an attempt to blackmail Hamadeh and 14 March coalition, so they would not extradite him to Syria.

Furthermore, Mourad claimed in his interview with Al Akhbar that he recorded this tape upon a request from Samar Al Hajj, Officer Ali Al Hajj's Wife,  saying she had promised to get him out of jail if he does so.

Mourad, who has been imprisoned since 2004 upon the charge of drug dealing, proceeded saying that his life was in danger and that Officer Al Hajj threatened to kill him twice.

In addition to all that, he claimed that Samar Al Hajj called him several times to bargain on his latest testimony, and offered him $100,000 and a ticket to travel abroad if he retracts from it.

In her response, Al Hajj ironically described Wissam Al Hassan as "the teacher of his masters" emphasizing "He is the teacher of his (Mourad's) masters Firas Khashan and Marwan Hamedeh, and Wissam Al Hassan is their teacher, all are involved in the entire telecom network issue".

"I call them to fullfil their duty and publish these phone calls. I dare them to do so," Al Hajj
said.

Moreover, Samar Al Hajj sarcastically responded to Mourad's claims saying, "I also offered him a car, and of course he deserves more than a plane ticket, so I offered to take him on my private plane that previously took false witness Mohammad Zuhair Siddiq from Saudi Arabia to Paris, Emirates, etc..."

Samar Al Hajj commented on Mourad's claim that Officer Ali Al Hajj threatened to kill him, and noted that during the investigations, the first signed on his testimony that included "If I change my testimony, my masters will kill me."

Al Hajj concluded, "I have to say that this man, whose job is to be a false witness, besides his second job which is drug dealing, had to choose between fabricating these words or being killed."

On the other hand, regarding Mariam Aid Ship to the Gaza Strip, Samar Al Hajj pointed out that in the coming few days, Mariam ship organizers will hold a press conference, and a couple of days after that it would be taking off.

Al Hajj indicated that Mariam ship is facing several obstacles, for instance, she said, "Official documents are being requested from us here today, those that have never been requested from any other ship before. It is really surprising that they are asking us for all kinds of documents, however, we are presenting everything, and things will be ok."