By ROBERT F. WORTH BEIRUT, Lebanon — A judge ordered the release of four high-ranking Lebanese security officials on Wednesday, all being held here in connection with the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The decision was seen here as a blow to the political movement led by Mr. Hariri’s son.

The judge, Daniel Fransen, said there was not enough evidence to keep holding the four men, who have been detained without charge since September 2005 and are widely believed to have had some knowledge of the killing or involvement in it. They were the only suspects in the custody of the international tribunal based in The Hague that was formed under United Nations auspices after Mr. Hariri’s death in a powerful car bombing on Feb. 14, 2005.

The announcement was met with wild volleys of celebratory gunfire from the generals’ supporters in Beirut and in the southern suburb that is the stronghold of Hezbollah, Mr. Hariri’s political adversary.

“Some Lebanese are not relieved by this decision,” said Saad Hariri, the former prime minister’s son, grim-faced during a news conference here after the decision. But he added that he welcomed any decision from the tribunal in The Hague. He also said releasing the generals would disprove recurring accusations that the tribunal was politicized in favor of Mr. Hariri’s allies.

The four — Jamil Sayyed, Ali Hajj, Raymond Azar, and Mustafa Hamdan — directed the chief security and intelligence services and the presidential guard. They were widely seen as henchmen for Syria, which occupied Lebanon militarily for three decades. Widely believed to have ordered Rafik Hariri’s killing, Syria was forced out of Lebanon under local and international pressure a few months later.

The decision in The Hague comes just seven weeks before a crucial parliamentary election here in which Saad Hariri and his political allies, now in the majority, are facing an alliance led by Hezbollah. Many here believe the tribunal’s decision could cut into Mr. Hariri’s votes by spreading the impression that Syria would escape being brought to account for the assassination of his father and be emboldened to rebuild its influence here.

Lebanese officials had lobbied to have the decision delayed until after the elections, but tribunal judicial figures refused, saying they could not take political considerations into account, said a senior court official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the court’s inner workings.

The first prosecutor in the case, Detlev Mehlis, released a report in 2005 that the assassination was planned by high-level Syrian and Lebanese officials, including some in the inner circle of the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad. At the time, the tribunal was widely seen as a vehicle for the widespread anger here and in the West over Syria’s role in Lebanon. A string of other political assassinations took place in the following years, and they could still be included as part of the tribunal’s work if they are proved to be related to Rafik Hariri’s killing, in which 22 others also died.

The tribunal has always been controversial in Lebanon. Many supporters have seen it as a way to punish Syria and its proxies here, which they tend to blame for all the assassinations since 2005. By contrast, those in the political opposition — including Hezbollah — see it more as a political weapon aimed at their Syrian ally. They also ask why such a tribunal is warranted for a billionaire politician and not for the victims of the many massacres and assassinations that have taken place here in recent decades.

Disagreements over the tribunal led to a walkout by opposition cabinet ministers in late 2006, setting off a political showdown that crippled Lebanon’s government for 18 months and led it to the brink of another civil war.

Recently, the tribunal appears to have moved more slowly, and the prosecutors who followed Mr. Mehlis have not named any suspects. A key witness retracted a statement that implicated the four generals, undermining the case against them. Their release became almost inevitable after two senior investigators with the tribunal reported that there was not enough evidence to hold the men. The tribunal gained jurisdiction over them when it formally opened on March 1.

The tribunal’s prosecutor, Daniel Bellemare, emphasized that the case was bigger than the four generals, who could be called as witnesses or even rearrested if more evidence is found. Tribunal officials have said that indictments could be issued later this year.

But many Lebanese seemed to view the generals’ release as a sign that the tribunal might never bring Mr. Hariri’s killers to justice.

“It is a shock,” said Samir Frangieh, one of Mr. Hariri’s parliamentary allies. “Everyone knows who these men were and what they did.” In contrast was the current of joy among the generals’ allies, including former president Émile Lahoud, who sent an entourage to the prison to greet Mr. Hamdan, his former bodyguard. At the home of Mr. Sayyed, supporters shouted and hugged each other as news of his impending release was announced.

“We want the truth behind Hariri’s killing,” said Faisal Hamdan, Mr. Sayyed’s brother-in-law, echoing a phrase used by Mr. Hariri’s own supporters to promote their demands for justice. “We want the truth as it really is.”

Raymond Azar, former military intelligence chief, talks to reporters as Hezbollah member of parliament Amin Sherry (L) looks on at Azar‘s his home during a welcome ceremony to mark his release from prison, in Ballouneh, east of Beirut April 29, 2009. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday ordered the release of four pro-Syrian security generals held in Lebanon since 2005 over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. REUTERS/Georges Saad (LEBANON)

Reuters via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 12:03 PM

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• Newly released prisoner Raymond Azar, former military intelligence chief, hugs his wife upon arrival at his home during a welcome ceremony to mark his release in Ballouneh, east of Beirut April 29, 2009. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday ordered the release of four pro-Syrian security generals held in Lebanon since 2005 over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. REUTERS/Georges Saad (LEBANON CONFLICT POLITICS)

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• Ali Hajj (C), former police chief, is welcomed by his mother and Hezbollah member of parliament Hussein Hajj Hassan upon returning to his home in Beirut at a welcome ceremony marking his release from prison April 29, 2009. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday ordered the release of four pro-Syrian security generals held in Lebanon since 2005 over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON CONFLICT POLITICS)

  Reuters via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 12:05 PM

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• Ali Hajj, former police chief, is hugged by his wife Samar upon returning to his home in Beirut during a welcome ceremony to mark his release from prison April 29, 2009. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday ordered the release of four pro-Syrian security generals held in Lebanon since 2005 over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON CONFLICT POLITICS)

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• Supporters of newly released prisoner Ali Hajj (C), former police chief, carry him during a welcome ceremony to mark his release, in Beirut April 29, 2009. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday ordered the release of four pro-Syrian security generals held in Lebanon since 2005 over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON CONFLICT POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY)

  Reuters via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 11:00 AM

 

 

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• Brig. Gen. Jamil Sayyed stands on a stage, rear center, as he addresses supporters after his release from prison outside his house in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Authorities began releasing four Lebanese generals who were held in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri after an international judge ordered them released. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)

  AP via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 10:42 AM

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• Brig. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, speaks in front of several hundred supporters outside of his house in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Authorities in Lebanon have begun releasing four generals held for four years on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri after an international judge ordered them released. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)

  AP via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 10:06 AM

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• Brig. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, center, gestures as he arrives outside of his house, welcomed by several hundred cheering supporters in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Authorities in Lebanon have begun releasing four generals held for four years on suspicion of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri after an international judge ordered them released. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)

  AP via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 10:05 AM

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• Sawsan Sayyed, left, wife of former General Security chief Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, reacts with a relative as the news of his release along with three other Lebanese generals was heard live on TV, at his home in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 29, 2009. A judge at the U.N.-backed tribunal set up to prosecute former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassins ordered the immediate release of Sayyed and three pro-Syrian generals being held in Beirut as suspects. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Tawil)

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• Newly released prisoner Mustafa Hamdan (L), former chief of the Republican Guard, hugs his brother upon returning to his home during a welcome ceremony to mark his release in Beirut April 29, 2009. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday ordered the release of four pro-Syrian security generals held in Lebanon since 2005 over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. REUTERS/Hussam Shbaro (LEBANON CONFLICT POLITICS)

  Reuters via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 11:46 AM

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• Supporters of newly released prisoner Mustafa Hamdan, former chief of the Republican Guard, greet him during a welcome ceremony to mark his release, in Beirut April 29, 2009. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday ordered the release of four pro-Syrian security generals held in Lebanon since 2005 over the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. REUTERS/Hussam Shbaro (LEBANON CONFLICT POLITICS)

  Reuters via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 11:26 AM

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• Former Presidential Guards commander, Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hamdan, center, celebrates after his release from prison as he arrives in his house in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, April 29, 2009. Lebanon released four generals held for nearly four years in the 2005 truck-bomb assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri after a U.N.-backed tribunal ordered them freed on Wednesday, setting off celebrations with fireworks and dancing. (AP Photo)

  AP via Yahoo! News – Apr 29 11:20 AM