| The Daily Star |
 |
| Archive. |
BEIRUT: The prosecutor of the U.N.-backed court probing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri announced Wednesday the tribunal is examining material provided by Hezbollah, less than a week after going public with arrest warrants against four party members accused of the crime.
“In accordance with its policy to pursue all investigative leads, the Office of the Prosecutor is currently examining material hand-delivered by Hezbollah officials to the Prosecutor General of Lebanon on July 13, 2011,” a statement from Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s office said.
Hezbollah, which has repeatedly called for a boycott of the court, denied handing information directly to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
“We give what we have to the Lebanese judiciary only and our position regarding the court is clear,” the party said in a statement.
Bellemare’s first indictment, issued in June, contained the names of four individuals accused of killing Hariri: Mustapha Baddredine, Salim Ayyash, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra. All are known to have links with Hezbollah.
The document was sealed at first, although leaks to media outlets lead to the naming of the four suspects. Last Friday, Bellemare’s office released additional details on the men, and clarified that they were the only four people currently accused of killing Hariri.
In a televised speech last month in response to the indictment, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the four men would not be apprehended by security forces “even in 300 years.”
He pointed out that Hezbollah had offered to hand over information that the party claims links Israel to the killing of Hariri, but that the court had ignored such a potential avenue of investigation.
The court said Wednesday that Bellemare had asked for certain video material that appeared alongside Nasrallah’s July 2 speech.
“[The] material was provided in response to a request for assistance made by the Office of the Prosecutor to the Prosecutor General of Lebanon,” the statement said. “In its request, the Office of the Prosecutor sought to obtain the file on some elements of the investigation that the secretary-general of Hezbollah had offered to provide.
“The Office of the Prosecutor also requested the video material during the speech, as well as any other information and documents that would assist the tribunal in its ongoing pursuit of justice,” the court added.
Although the prosecutor has remained tight-lipped on investigative matters, it is thought that court staff have interviewed several Hezbollah members as witnesses during the six years since Hariri’s death; Hezbollah MPs have admitted as much.
“In accordance with its policy to pursue all investigative leads, the Office of the Prosecutor is currently examining material hand-delivered by Hezbollah officials to the Prosecutor General of Lebanon on July 13, 2011,” a statement from Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s office said.
Hezbollah, which has repeatedly called for a boycott of the court, denied handing information directly to the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
“We give what we have to the Lebanese judiciary only and our position regarding the court is clear,” the party said in a statement.
Bellemare’s first indictment, issued in June, contained the names of four individuals accused of killing Hariri: Mustapha Baddredine, Salim Ayyash, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra. All are known to have links with Hezbollah.
The document was sealed at first, although leaks to media outlets lead to the naming of the four suspects. Last Friday, Bellemare’s office released additional details on the men, and clarified that they were the only four people currently accused of killing Hariri.
In a televised speech last month in response to the indictment, Hezbollah Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah vowed that the four men would not be apprehended by security forces “even in 300 years.”
He pointed out that Hezbollah had offered to hand over information that the party claims links Israel to the killing of Hariri, but that the court had ignored such a potential avenue of investigation.
The court said Wednesday that Bellemare had asked for certain video material that appeared alongside Nasrallah’s July 2 speech.
“[The] material was provided in response to a request for assistance made by the Office of the Prosecutor to the Prosecutor General of Lebanon,” the statement said. “In its request, the Office of the Prosecutor sought to obtain the file on some elements of the investigation that the secretary-general of Hezbollah had offered to provide.
“The Office of the Prosecutor also requested the video material during the speech, as well as any other information and documents that would assist the tribunal in its ongoing pursuit of justice,” the court added.
Although the prosecutor has remained tight-lipped on investigative matters, it is thought that court staff have interviewed several Hezbollah members as witnesses during the six years since Hariri’s death; Hezbollah MPs have admitted as much.
No comments:
Post a Comment