The Mehlis Report[1] is the result of the United Nations investigation into the 14 February 2005 assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri. The investigation was launched in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1595 and headed by the German prosecutor, Detlev Mehlis. It involved questioning Lebanese and Syrian officials.
This report was preceded by, and should not be confused with, the UN's FitzGerald Report.
The final draft of the Mehlis Report was released on 20 October 2005, and found that high-ranking members of the Syrian and Lebanese governments were involved in the assassination. The report based its findings on key witnesses and on a variety of evidence including patterns of telephone calls between specific prepaid phone cards that connected prominent Lebanese and Syrian officials to events surrounding the crime.
Upon the release of the first report, the term of the investigation was extended to 15 December 2005; a second report with further findings was released on 10 December 2005.
On 15 December, the Security Council voted unanimously to extend the investigation again to 15 June 2006. On 15 December, Detlev Mehlis stepped down as chief investigator to return to Berlin. On 11 January 2006, Mehlis was replaced by Serge Brammertz.