iloubnan - UN Lebanon tribunal submits indictment in Hariri case - June 30, 2011

A special UN tribunal confirmed Thursday it has submitted a confidential indictment and arrest warrants to Lebanese authorities over the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.

"The indictment and accompanying arrest warrants were transmitted to the Lebanese authorities on 30 June 2011," the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said in a statement issued in The Hague.

STL prosecutor Daniel Bellemare had filed his first draft indictment to judge Daniel Fransen on January 17, and has modified it three times.

Fransen confirmed the indictment on Tuesday after satisfying himself there was enough evidence for the issuing of arrest warrants, the statement said.

It did not divulge the nature of the charges.

"The confirmation of the indictment means that Judge Fransen is satisfied that there is prima facie evidence for this case to proceed to trial," the statement said, adding: "at this time, the STL has no comment on the identity or identities of the person or persons named in the indictment."

"This is not a verdict of guilty and any accused person is presumed innocent unless his or her guilt is established at trial," it added.

Lebanese authorities will have to report to the STL within 30 days on the steps taken to arrest the accused.

The tribunal's work has been the subject of widespread speculation in Lebanon amid fears that an indictment of members of Hezbollah, which dominates the new government, could spark renewed sectarian unrest.

The tribunal, created by the UN, opened its doors in The Hague in 2009 to try those behind the bomb attack that killed Hariri and 22 others in a massive blast on February 14, 2005.