February 6, 2010 - Daily Star - STL chief rules out deadlines in issuing indictments

BEIRUT: The head of a UN probe into the murder of Lebanon’s former Premier Rafik Hariri said Friday there were “no deadlines” in issuing indictments in the case, calling it highly complex. “All acts of terrorism are much more complicated than war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide,” Antonio Cassese of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) told AFP during his first visit to Beirut. “We cannot set deadlines.”
Cassese, who arrived in Lebanon Monday for a week-long visit, said that unlike other crimes, political killings were harder to crack given the layers of secrecy involved. “Terrorist acts involve secret cells. There’s no clear chain of command or hierarchy,” he said. “Most of the time those involved will not confess because they risk being killed by their accomplices.”
Cassese and his deputy, Ralph Riashi, briefed senior officials including President Michel Sleiman on the tribunal’s progress during their visit. They did not meet Prime Minister Saad Hariri, son of the murdered premier, or Defense Minister Elias Murr “because of the personal link they have with cases that may fall under the tribunal’s jurisdiction,” Cassese’s office said in a statement before his visit. Murr was also a minister in Rafik Hariri’s Cabinet, and a victim of a murder attempt.
Concluding their visit on Friday, Cassese and Riashi expressed their gratitude to the Lebanese political, judicial and academic authorities for the “warm welcome” extended to them and for Beirut’s offering of support, a statement from Cassese’s office said.
The statement added that a cooperation agreement was concluded with Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar regarding the appointment of a magistrate responsible for liaising between the Lebanese authorities and the Tribunal and, in particular, for implementing the Tribunal’s decisions and orders in Lebanon.