| The Daily Star |
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BEIRUT: The involvement of Interpol in the hunt for the alleged assassins of statesman Rafik Hariri will maximize the chances of apprehending suspects, the office of the prosecutor at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said Monday.
Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s spokesperson told The Daily Star international arrest warrants would seek to prevent accused individuals from fleeing the countries in which they reside.
“The [STL] Pre-Trial Judge [Daniel Fransen] issued international arrest warrants to expand their reach to all member states of Interpol so that Interpol can help to implement them,” the prosecutor’s spokesperson Gregory Townsend said. “Interpol has an existing coordination and communications network to achieve this.”
The STL issued international arrest warrants over the weekend against those accused of killing Hariri in 2005. Interpol, as an international policing organization, will now transmit information to all states, Lebanon included, that these warrants exist. The warrants were issued “with the request to national police forces that the wanted person be arrested with a view to transfer or extradition,” Townsend said.
Information obtained by The Daily Star suggests that of the individuals named on the court’s first indictment, delivered recently to authorities in Beirut, some are non-Lebanese. Judicial sources indicated that the names of four Hezbollah members were named secretly in the indictment, although it is not clear where the men currently are.
Townsend said warrants would only ask authorities to prevent the wanted individuals from leaving their countries of residence. “International arrest warrants are not concerned with the citizenship of individuals – they are rather concerned with their movements across national borders,” he added. “The office of the prosecutor cannot comment further as [this] relates to a sealed, confidential indictment and relates to ongoing, operational matters.”
Townsend said the warrants were issued with a view to getting suspects indicted to The Hague to stand trial.
“An international arrest warrant calls on all states to apprehend the accused. Upon arrest, the tribunal will request the authorities of the state of arrest and to transfer the accused to the custody of the tribunal in The Netherlands,” he said.
The STL is allowed by mandate to try individuals in absentia if suspects cannot be located in a timely manner.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has vowed that party members would not be apprehended, raising the possibility of in-absentia proceedings. The court may choose to start such trials when or if authorities prove unable or unwilling to arrest the accused. However, Townsend said that the warrants would remain valid even after trial for as long as a suspect remains at large.
“An arrest warrant remains valid even upon the start of a trial in absentia. Only the tribunal can revoke or quash tribunal-issued arrest warrants,” he said. “Arrest warrants are not subject to a time limitation.”
Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander accused by an international tribunal of war crimes was arrested recently on a warrant dating back to 1995. A similar denouement could therefore occur with Hariri suspects, well after their trials.
Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s spokesperson told The Daily Star international arrest warrants would seek to prevent accused individuals from fleeing the countries in which they reside.
“The [STL] Pre-Trial Judge [Daniel Fransen] issued international arrest warrants to expand their reach to all member states of Interpol so that Interpol can help to implement them,” the prosecutor’s spokesperson Gregory Townsend said. “Interpol has an existing coordination and communications network to achieve this.”
The STL issued international arrest warrants over the weekend against those accused of killing Hariri in 2005. Interpol, as an international policing organization, will now transmit information to all states, Lebanon included, that these warrants exist. The warrants were issued “with the request to national police forces that the wanted person be arrested with a view to transfer or extradition,” Townsend said.
Information obtained by The Daily Star suggests that of the individuals named on the court’s first indictment, delivered recently to authorities in Beirut, some are non-Lebanese. Judicial sources indicated that the names of four Hezbollah members were named secretly in the indictment, although it is not clear where the men currently are.
Townsend said warrants would only ask authorities to prevent the wanted individuals from leaving their countries of residence. “International arrest warrants are not concerned with the citizenship of individuals – they are rather concerned with their movements across national borders,” he added. “The office of the prosecutor cannot comment further as [this] relates to a sealed, confidential indictment and relates to ongoing, operational matters.”
Townsend said the warrants were issued with a view to getting suspects indicted to The Hague to stand trial.
“An international arrest warrant calls on all states to apprehend the accused. Upon arrest, the tribunal will request the authorities of the state of arrest and to transfer the accused to the custody of the tribunal in The Netherlands,” he said.
The STL is allowed by mandate to try individuals in absentia if suspects cannot be located in a timely manner.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah has vowed that party members would not be apprehended, raising the possibility of in-absentia proceedings. The court may choose to start such trials when or if authorities prove unable or unwilling to arrest the accused. However, Townsend said that the warrants would remain valid even after trial for as long as a suspect remains at large.
“An arrest warrant remains valid even upon the start of a trial in absentia. Only the tribunal can revoke or quash tribunal-issued arrest warrants,” he said. “Arrest warrants are not subject to a time limitation.”
Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb military commander accused by an international tribunal of war crimes was arrested recently on a warrant dating back to 1995. A similar denouement could therefore occur with Hariri suspects, well after their trials.
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