Former General Security chief Jamil Sayyed’s press office announced on Monday that a French court had set a hearing in his lawsuit against former chief U.N. investigator investigator Detlev Mehlis on May 18.

Sayyed had filed a defamation lawsuit against Mehlis after the latter had adopted testimonies of false witnesses in the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which led to his imprisonment in 2005 for nearly four years.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen has ordered that STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare release more than 270 documents to Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, Lebanon’s former General Security chief, STL’s press office said Thursday.

“Fransen ruled that Mr. Sayyed would receive some of the documents in the possession of the STL Prosecutor very soon. A large majority of these will be disclosed to Mr. Sayyed, whilst others can only be inspected by his counsel,” the press office clarified in a communiqué.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen on Tuesday held a confidential hearing relating to the request by former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed to obtain documents that relate to his file and which he believes are in the possession of STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, STL’s press office announced.

“The hearing examined which of these documents the Prosecutor should hand over to Mr. Sayyed,” the press office noted in a statement.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe is scheduled to pay a visit to Lebanon on May 13-14, a French source told pan-Arab al-Hayat daily on Tuesday.

“Lebanon should be a free and sovereign country and become an example in the region due to its dynamic democratic institutions and peaceful coexistence among sects,” Juppe said in his statement during the “Arab Spring” symposium held at the Arab World Institute on Saturday.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has submitted to STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen a confidential report explaining why disclosing documents to Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed "could amongst other things prejudice ongoing or future investigations or could put people's lives at risk," STL's press office said Friday.

"The Special Tribunal for Lebanon can confirm that the Prosecutor submitted a confidential and ex parte application to the Pre-Trial Judge on March 10, 2011," the press office said in a communiqué.

The international tribunal will hold a public hearing on Friday to discuss former Lebanese security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed's demand to see the evidence that led to him being jailed as a suspect in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case for nearly four years.

The hearing at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the Hague will play out against a backdrop of political turmoil in Beirut after Hizbullah and its allies brought down the government.

Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar has asked his Syrian counterpart Ahmed Younes to refer the arrest warrants against Lebanese personalities to the Lebanese judiciary but has received no answer.

Lebanese Forces MP George Adwan unveiled to Future News on Tuesday night that the request was made on December 17.

Hizbullah on Friday called on authorities to back down on a request to summon former head of Lebanon's General Security Department Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed.

State Prosecutor Jamil Sayyed on Thursday demanded to summon Sayyed for threatening State security and Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Lebanon can do without armed clashes similar to those of May 7, 2008 and the recent remarks of former head of General Security, Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, and Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun "are rejected," Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat said Thursday.

In an interview with LBC TV, Jumblat said that "the presumptions presented" by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon were "very important," noting that "the tribunal's issue can be solved between (Premier Saad)Hariri and Nasrallah, so there's no need to topple it (STL) through street" riots.