August 6, 2010 - Naharnet - Bellemare Uncovers: Indictment Not Based on Conclusive Evidence

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has reportedly said that charges facing suspects in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri are not based on conclusive evidence. As-Safir newspaper on Friday said Bellemare made the revelations before diplomats at the United Nations. According to a Western diplomatic source, the indictment will include in the first phase direct accusations against three Hizbullah members. As-Safir said Bellemare himself made this disclosure before a number of diplomats at the U.N. headquarters in New York. It quoted sources as saying that Bellemare uncovered that the indictment charges would extend to up to 20 party members. As-Safir said a report recently received by a Lebanese political side cites that diplomats who met Bellemare asked questions about the evidence upon which the STL Prosecutor relied on to accuse Hizbullah members. Bellemare, according to the paper, replied that the charges are not based on "conclusive," but rather "circumstantial" evidence. The STL Prosecutor explained that circumstantial evidence was not based on direct witnesses but on "expert" witnesses.