Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen has asked the Trial Chamber to determine whether proceedings in absentia should be initiated in the case of Ayyash et al., revealed the STL in statement on Monday.
“The Tribunal’s rules state that if the accused have not been arrested within 30 calendar days of the public advertisement of an indictment, then the pre-trial judge can request that the Trial Chamber initiate proceedings in absentia,” it continued.
“According to the pre-trial judge’s ruling, this period of public advertisement started at the latest on September 15, 2011, when a wanted poster displaying the pictures of the accused, their personal details and the counts against them were published in major Lebanese newspapers,” it added.
“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,” concluded the statement.
In July, the STL investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri released its indictment along with arrest warrants against four Hizbullah members.
They have remained at large despite efforts by Lebanese security forces to arrest them.
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