February 6, 2010 - Naharnet - Cassese Hariri Case Highly Complex

The head of a U.N. probe into the murder five years ago of Lebanon's former premier Rafik Hariri said on 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 told AFP during his first visit to Beirut.
"We cannot set deadlines," he added.
Cassese, who arrived in Lebanon on Monday on a week-long visit, said that unlike other crimes, political assassinations 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 Riachy, briefed senior officials, including President Michel Suleiman, 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.
The Hague-based tribunal was set up by a U.N. Security Council resolution in 2007 to try suspects in the murder of Hariri, killed in a massive bomb blast on Beirut seafront in February 2005.
The bombing was widely blamed on Syria although Damascus has denied any involvement. A U.N. commission of inquiry said it had found evidence to implicate Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services but there are no suspects in custody.(AFP)