DAMASCUS, Jan. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Syrian parliament speaker on Monday called for a speedy trial of former Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam for high treason, one day after he was expelled by Syria's ruling al-Baath party.

   In a letter to Minister of Justice Mohammad al-Ghafri, People's Assembly Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash urged the judicial institution to set up a special court to try Khaddam for treason and harming state security and safety, the official SANA news agency reported.

   The parliament on Saturday unanimously voted for the trial of Khaddam on charges of treason after he accused Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of involvement in the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

   Khaddam, who lives in Paris, said in an interview aired on Friday by Dubai-based Al-Arabiya television that Assad had threatened Hariri just months before he was assassinated in a car bomb blast on Feb. 14.

   Khaddam said the Syrian intelligence services could not have carried out such an operation without Assad being informed.

   His remarks were a rare attack on the Syrian government by a former official.

   The UN Security Council demanded full Syrian cooperation with the international probe into Hariri's killing.

   Syria has denied any role in the killing and dismissed the UN charge of slow cooperation as "inaccurate." Enditem