There were celebrations across Beirut on Wednesday as live television carried the news of the release of four pro-Syrian generals being held as suspects in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Earlier on Wednesday a judge at the United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague, set up to prosecute Hariri's assassins, ordered the immediate release of the four generals.
The four ordered freed were former General Security chief Major General Jamil Sayyed; Major General Ali Hajj, the ex-Internal Security Forces director general; Brigadier General Raymond Azar, the former military intelligence chief; and the former Presidential Guards commander, Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan.
Fireworks and some gunfire echoed across the Lebanese capital as news of the release was conveyed from The Hague.
At Sayyed's home in Beirut, relatives burst out in tears of joy, hugging and kissing each other.
Women relatives ululated in a traditional sign of jubilation.
Supporters of Sayyed gathered outside his house in Beirut dancing and beating drums to celebrate his release.
Hezbollah member of Parliament, Nawar Al-Sahili said it was a "sad day" for Lebanese justice, since it had recommended the detention of the generals.
Judge Daniel Fransen ordered the Lebanese generals freed after prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to justify their continued detention.
Fransen also demanded that Lebanese authorities protect the generals after their unconditional release and said they should no longer be considered suspects.
The generals have been in custody in Lebanon since August 2005, six months after Hariri and 22 others were killed in a suicide bombing.
Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said Lebanese authorities were taking immediate measures to free the generals, taking into consideration measures for their security.
The four generals were the only suspects being held in the case.
Three other suspects jailed for more than three years were set free on bail in Beirut in February, a few days before the tribunal began its work and jurisdiction of the case was transferred to the court.
Hariri's assassination and accusations by his supporters of Syrian involvement sparked massive protests in Lebanon and together with international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its army from the country, ending 29 years of domination.
Syria has denied involvement.
The release could have an immediate political impact.
Lebanon is heading into a crucial parliamentary election that pits a pro-Western faction headed by Hariri's son Saad against an opposition dominated by the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.
Saad Hariri's faction is struggling to hold onto its legislative majority while the opposition has taken up the cause of the four generals.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has opposed the continued detention of the four, saying they should be charged and put on trial if they were suspected of involvement or otherwise released.
The tribunal opened March 1 amid tight security at the former headquarters of a Dutch intelligence agency in Leidschendam, a village on the outskirts of The Hague.
It is made up of Lebanese and international judges and Canadian prosecutor, Bellemare, who has yet to issue any indictments.
The court uses Lebanese law, but cannot impose the death penalty.
As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence in the country following decades of heavy military and intelligence presence.
UN-appointed investigators have been probing his assassination for years.
The first chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the plot's complexity suggested that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services had a role.
