BEIRUT: The U.N.-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of Statesman Rafik Hariri asked its Trials Chamber Monday to begin in absentia proceedings against four Hezbollah members accused of the crime.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced that Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen ruled that a 30-day public advertisement, issued by the court and asking the at-large individuals to turn themselves in, had expired.
“The Pre-Trial Judge has asked the Trial Chamber to determine whether proceedings in absentia should be initiated in the case of [suspect Salim Jamil] Ayyash et al,” an STL statement said.
Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare issued a confidential indictment against Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Baddredine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Hassan Assad Sabra in June. All four suspects are members of Hezbollah.
The court then moved to lift the confidentiality by disclosing a redacted version of Bellemare’s indictment, which detailed phone records the prosecutor had used to compile prima facie evidence against the men.
As per U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757, which founded the court, Lebanon is obliged to apprehend the accused individuals, something security forces in Beirut have so far been unable to do. Former STL President Antonio Cassese was moved to issue the 30-day advertisement following unsuccessful and “not satisfactory” Lebanese authorities attempts to arrest the men.
According to the STL’s statute, if suspects have not been arrested within 30 calendar days of the advertisement, Fransen can ask the Trials Chamber – the part of the court tasked with holding trials – to commence in absentia proceedings. The pre-trial judge determined that such an advertisement started “at the latest” on Sept. 15.
“The Trial Chamber will now have to determine whether the required conditions have been met in order to
start the proceedings in absentia whilst preserving the rights of the accused,” the court said.
Although Lebanon is obliged to cooperate with the court, it is set to miss a deadline to provide its share of tribunal funding for 2011 – an act that an STL spokesmen told The Daily Star could saddle Beirut with U.N. sanctions.State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, under orders from Cassese and new STL President Sir David Baragwanath, has to submit a monthly report to The Hague with updates on the hunt for the four men. Court sources said that both STL chiefs were keen to expedite the trials process, but would wait until “completely satisfied” that all avenues to arrest suspects had been exhausted before in absentia trials were arranged.
The STL has divided Lebanon’s political scene since its inception and detractors accuse the tribunal of being an American-Israeli plot to implicate Hezbollah in the Hariri murder.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that security forces will not apprehend the four accused, who are also the subject of international arrest warrants from Interpol, “even in 300 years.”
Although no deadline has officially been set for trials, it is thought that proceedings could commence in mid-2012, after defense counsels have had sufficient time to study Bellemare’s indictment and prepare a case.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced that Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen ruled that a 30-day public advertisement, issued by the court and asking the at-large individuals to turn themselves in, had expired.
“The Pre-Trial Judge has asked the Trial Chamber to determine whether proceedings in absentia should be initiated in the case of [suspect Salim Jamil] Ayyash et al,” an STL statement said.
Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare issued a confidential indictment against Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Baddredine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Hassan Assad Sabra in June. All four suspects are members of Hezbollah.
The court then moved to lift the confidentiality by disclosing a redacted version of Bellemare’s indictment, which detailed phone records the prosecutor had used to compile prima facie evidence against the men.
As per U.N. Security Council Resolution 1757, which founded the court, Lebanon is obliged to apprehend the accused individuals, something security forces in Beirut have so far been unable to do. Former STL President Antonio Cassese was moved to issue the 30-day advertisement following unsuccessful and “not satisfactory” Lebanese authorities attempts to arrest the men.
According to the STL’s statute, if suspects have not been arrested within 30 calendar days of the advertisement, Fransen can ask the Trials Chamber – the part of the court tasked with holding trials – to commence in absentia proceedings. The pre-trial judge determined that such an advertisement started “at the latest” on Sept. 15.
“The Trial Chamber will now have to determine whether the required conditions have been met in order to
start the proceedings in absentia whilst preserving the rights of the accused,” the court said.
Although Lebanon is obliged to cooperate with the court, it is set to miss a deadline to provide its share of tribunal funding for 2011 – an act that an STL spokesmen told The Daily Star could saddle Beirut with U.N. sanctions.State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, under orders from Cassese and new STL President Sir David Baragwanath, has to submit a monthly report to The Hague with updates on the hunt for the four men. Court sources said that both STL chiefs were keen to expedite the trials process, but would wait until “completely satisfied” that all avenues to arrest suspects had been exhausted before in absentia trials were arranged.
The STL has divided Lebanon’s political scene since its inception and detractors accuse the tribunal of being an American-Israeli plot to implicate Hezbollah in the Hariri murder.
Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has vowed that security forces will not apprehend the four accused, who are also the subject of international arrest warrants from Interpol, “even in 300 years.”
Although no deadline has officially been set for trials, it is thought that proceedings could commence in mid-2012, after defense counsels have had sufficient time to study Bellemare’s indictment and prepare a case.
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