Nestled among pine trees in the mountains above Beirut, the small Monteverdehotel has been turned into a fortress. The drive up the hill is interrupted by checkpoints where soldiers circle approaching cars with explosives detectors. Outside the hotel, dozens of armoured four-wheel drives are lined up to provide safe transport for guests.

For months, Lebanon has been captivated by the commotion at the Monteverde and by its most famous resident, a German prosecutor charged by the United Nations Security Council with investigating the February assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the billionaire former Lebanese prime minister. An unassuming but tenacious investigator, with a long history in prosecuting terror cases, the 55-year-old Detlev Mehlis moved into the Monteverde with his 100-strong UN team in June. "They [the security advisers] say I'm under threat but I've never felt it," he shrugs.