Author of the Der Spiegel article claiming Hizbullah was behind the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri in 2005 said he is "convinced" about the report and noted that the documents cited were "original." "The documents that I reviewed during preparation of my report were original, not copies," Erich Follath, Der Spiegel's diplomatic correspondent, said in an interview with pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat.
"I verified every word before publishing the report," he stressed. According to him, he visited Syria a few months ago and met President Bashar al-Assad. "That had nothing to do with the article published over the weekend," he stated.
Follath went on to say he is a "free" journalist who takes into account the conscience of his profession. He dismissed claims he was serving the interests of intelligence agencies, adding that he had "personally" criticized Israel a number of times for its violations of the rights of the Palestinian people in the occupied territories.
Follath said he was "happy" to be attacked by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. He mentioned that he had met senior Hizbullah officials and was "not surprised by Nasrallah's attack, but was expecting it."
He said Nasrallah's assault had "improved his status," adding that he is convinced about his tale "today more than ever before."
