| The Daily Star |
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BEIRUT: The U.N.-backed court probing the assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri will finalize its indictment next week, and it will contain the name of a Hezbollah commander among others accused of the crime, diplomatic and judicial sources told The Daily Star Tuesday.
Sources familiar with the investigation said that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will provide State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza with a sealed indictment at the start of next month, which may come before the new government finalizes a policy statement that could omit direct reference to the court.
“We expect the indictment on either July 3 or 4,” said one source. “Mirza has to do something [with the indictment], but the next stage is difficult.”
It added that the name of a senior Hezbollah military commander who is believed to be residing in Lebanon would be contained in the indictment.
State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza confirmed to The Daily Star that he would announce publicly when an indictment had been received but demurred on what would happen next.
“I cannot say what I will do,” Mirza said. “I do not know [when the indictment will be released]: they have been saying that they will issue it for years.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has slammed the STL, labeling it an “Israeli project” and warned to “cut the hand” of anyone targeting his organization in relation to Hariri’s murder. Nasrallah acknowledged that the names of individuals belonging to the party would likely feature in an indictment.
The STL has maintained that it will seek to indict individuals, not political entities. But the court’s reported intent to accuse a senior party official of carrying out the assassination is likely to put Lebanon’s judiciary in a bind, particularly if the Cabinet has not formed a coherent policy statement by the time the indictment lands.
“According to the procedures, the STL will inform judicial authorities to arrest and hand in the names listed in the indictment,” a judicial source told The Daily Star.
“However, judicial authorities will not be able to act if the indictment includes individuals from Hezbollah.
“Under the current circumstances and without a Cabinet [policy] statement, judicial authorities will be in some kind of limbo,” the source added.
Lebanon signed an agreement with the U.N. in 2007 to cooperate with the international court, although that commitment has been questioned following the formation of a March 8 government in Beirut.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that the new administration would maintain its international commitments on the proviso that they do not destabilize civil peace.
The judicial source said that The Hague was working on a purely legal level and it was therefore unlikely that individuals such as STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare and pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen would consider the fraught condition of Lebanon before finalizing an indictment.
“The situation in Lebanon will not change the stance of the STL. For whatever reason the judicial authorities fail to apprehend the suspects, the STL will consider that Lebanon has failed to implement its duties toward the tribunal,” the source said.
“In case the indictment is issued and Lebanon fails to cooperate with the tribunal, all the named suspects will be tried in absentia.”
The court’s statute dictates that STL President Antonio Cassese must be satisfied that countries receiving the indictment had exerted “sufficient effort” to apprehend accused individuals before going public and naming suspects, should the indictment be handed down in sealed form, as is expected.
Former Prime Minister Hariri was killed in a massive car bomb on Feb. 14, 2005, as his motorcade sped through Downtown Beirut. The act brought about popular demonstrations leading to Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon after nearly three decades. Twenty-two others were killed in the attack.
Sources familiar with the investigation said that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will provide State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza with a sealed indictment at the start of next month, which may come before the new government finalizes a policy statement that could omit direct reference to the court.
“We expect the indictment on either July 3 or 4,” said one source. “Mirza has to do something [with the indictment], but the next stage is difficult.”
It added that the name of a senior Hezbollah military commander who is believed to be residing in Lebanon would be contained in the indictment.
State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza confirmed to The Daily Star that he would announce publicly when an indictment had been received but demurred on what would happen next.
“I cannot say what I will do,” Mirza said. “I do not know [when the indictment will be released]: they have been saying that they will issue it for years.”
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has slammed the STL, labeling it an “Israeli project” and warned to “cut the hand” of anyone targeting his organization in relation to Hariri’s murder. Nasrallah acknowledged that the names of individuals belonging to the party would likely feature in an indictment.
The STL has maintained that it will seek to indict individuals, not political entities. But the court’s reported intent to accuse a senior party official of carrying out the assassination is likely to put Lebanon’s judiciary in a bind, particularly if the Cabinet has not formed a coherent policy statement by the time the indictment lands.
“According to the procedures, the STL will inform judicial authorities to arrest and hand in the names listed in the indictment,” a judicial source told The Daily Star.
“However, judicial authorities will not be able to act if the indictment includes individuals from Hezbollah.
“Under the current circumstances and without a Cabinet [policy] statement, judicial authorities will be in some kind of limbo,” the source added.
Lebanon signed an agreement with the U.N. in 2007 to cooperate with the international court, although that commitment has been questioned following the formation of a March 8 government in Beirut.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that the new administration would maintain its international commitments on the proviso that they do not destabilize civil peace.
The judicial source said that The Hague was working on a purely legal level and it was therefore unlikely that individuals such as STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare and pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen would consider the fraught condition of Lebanon before finalizing an indictment.
“The situation in Lebanon will not change the stance of the STL. For whatever reason the judicial authorities fail to apprehend the suspects, the STL will consider that Lebanon has failed to implement its duties toward the tribunal,” the source said.
“In case the indictment is issued and Lebanon fails to cooperate with the tribunal, all the named suspects will be tried in absentia.”
The court’s statute dictates that STL President Antonio Cassese must be satisfied that countries receiving the indictment had exerted “sufficient effort” to apprehend accused individuals before going public and naming suspects, should the indictment be handed down in sealed form, as is expected.
Former Prime Minister Hariri was killed in a massive car bomb on Feb. 14, 2005, as his motorcade sped through Downtown Beirut. The act brought about popular demonstrations leading to Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon after nearly three decades. Twenty-two others were killed in the attack.
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