Former Lebanese general who called prime minister a liar rejects state summons

Beirut:  A former Lebanese army general who called Prime Minister Saad Hariri a liar and urged people to topple his government says he will not respond to a state summons for questioning.

Former General Security chief Major General  Jamil Syed was among four pro-Syrian officers jailed without charge for nearly four years in the 2005 assassination of Hariri's father, Rafik. They were freed last year for lack of evidence.

Syed said he would place himself at the disposal of the Lebanese judiciary but only after the removal of state prosecutor Said Mirza, who issued the summons.

Syed is suing Mirza in a Syrian court and at the UN-appointed international tribunal investigating Hariri's killing for allegedly misleading the investigation.

The ex-general spoke on Saturday upon arrival at Beirut airport.