Lawyers for Sayyed, former head of the presidential guard Mustafa Hamdan, domestic security chief Ali Hajj and military intelligence chief Raymond Azar argue that their detention is "illegal" and "unfounded."

They say there is no proof against them and that the four are being held on false testimony that was later retracted.

The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon is set to start work on Sunday.

Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has two months from when the tribunal begins operating on March 1 to ask for the generals to be brought to the Netherlands, and can urge the tribunal to either free them or keep them in custody.

"If they are not freed (by Lebanon), their release (by the tribunal) will be imminent after March 1, I'm convinced of it," Azuri said, adding that he was "extremely optimistic."

The generals were detained on suspicion of premeditated murder, attempted premeditated murder and carrying out terrorist acts.

Hariri, a multi-billionaire and five-time prime minister, and 22 other people were killed on February 14, 2005 when a massive car bomb exploded near the Beirut waterfront as his convoy passed.

Initially, the blast was thought to have been triggered by a signal from a mobile phone, but a UN investigative commission created two months later eventually blamed it on a still-unidentified suicide bomber.

General Hajj's wife Samar told AFP on Friday her husband was "serene and unwavering. Only the guilty waver. We want justice to be done at this tribunal for the whole world to see." -AFP