BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) vowed Wednesday that it would continue with investigations “undeterred” after a crowd of women harassed its investigators at a medical clinic in Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Police sources and witnesses say the assailants snatched a briefcase from an investigator, shortly before he, his colleague and their Lebanese interpreter were escorted out of the building by security forces.
Police sources report that nearly 150 women were hauled over to the clinic’s building, situated near the airport road. Thirty of the women proceeded to charge on the clinic, while more than 70 monitored the premises’ parking lot, they said.
However, in an address to the media, the clinic’s legal representative put the number of attackers at less than 10. The representative added that no one had been hurt during the clash.
The investigators are part of the UN-backed STL, probing the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. They left the clinic without having acquired the documents they had come in search of.
March 14 forces have blamed Hizbullah for the ambush.
High-ranking Hizbullah officials told several media outlets that the group was “not concerned and has no relation” with the incident at the gynecologist’s clinic.
“I think this [incident] sends a clear message that Hizbullah will not cooperate with the international tribunal,” political science professor Sami Haddad at Notre Dame University, told The Daily Star. However, he urged the international community to question “whether it can enforce cooperation on organizations in Lebanon.” “I don’t think that it can,” he added.
In a press release late Wednesday, the STL’s Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) detailed the incident. The court’s statement said the meeting between investigators and the clinicians had been conducted “in accordance with legal safeguards,” but that in spite of this “a large group of people” appeared and “violently attacked the investigators and their female interpreter.” “The investigation into the Hariri attack will continue and this incident will not deter the OTP from pursuing its mission,” the statement concluded.
Shortly after the incident, Sharara, the clinic’s chief practitioner, told reporters she had encountered a crowd of screaming women as she was about to direct the officials and their interpreter that accompanied them to request the files.
| She said the women were “unknown” to her and that she had canceled all appointments for that day in anticipation of the investigators’ arrival. |
The international tribunal has formed the bone of contention in recent disputes between Lebanon’s opposing political camps, with the March 14 coalition throwing its political weight behind the tribunal, and March 8 alleging that the STL is politically motivated by international actors.
March 8 forces believe the tribunal plans to indict members of Hizbullah. The group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, questioned in recent months the integrity and neutrality of the tribunal, arguing that its credibility has been belittled by investigators’ reliance on “false witnesses” and questionable telephone records.
According to a statement by Hizbullah’s media office, Nasrallah will tackle the “performance and behavior” of UN investigators during a televised speech Thursday.
The March 14 Secretariat General issued a statement saying it was puzzled by the attack on the UN investigators by what they described as “a group of residents affiliated with Hizbullah.” They added that Wednesday’s incidents reminded them of “attacks against UN peacekeeping troops [in south Lebanon].” This represents an attack on the international community’s legitimacy and its resolutions, and particularly [UN resolutions] 1701 and 1757,” said the March 14 statement.
UN Resolution 1701 is credited with ending the Lebanon’s war with Israel in 2006., while Resolution 1757 established the Special Tribunal in 2007.
Initial reports of the women’s charge on the clinic offered conflicting versions of the events. Estimations of the number of women involved varied widely, ranging between eight and 150.
State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza has launched a preliminary probe into the events, and said the case would be referred to the military court. A security source told The Daily Star the briefcase that was confiscated during the attack contained important state documents.
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