Daily Star - STL says 60 applied as victims in Hariri case, November 2nd 2011

BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon said Tuesday that over 60 people have applied to participate as victims in the case of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“The applicants are members of various Lebanese communities and include persons who suffered different kinds of harm as a result of the Feb. 14, 2005, attack,” a statement from the court said, referring the attack on Hariri on Valentine’s Day in Beirut.

Hariri, a five time prime minister, was assassinated after a massive car bomb hits his motorcade while making its way through the Ain al-Mreisseh area of Downtown Beirut. Twenty-two others, mainly Hariri’s bodyguards, were killed in the blast.

The time period for submitting applications had been set by Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen on 8 Sept. and expired Oct. 31, the court said in an advisory on its website Tuesday.

It said the applications it had received would be translated and then referred to Fransen, “who will decide on each individual application for participation and issue a decision in due course. This process might be expected to take up to several months.”

“According to the pre-trial Judge’s order, victims who did not apply by the deadline might still be permitted to participate if they can show valid reasons in order to justify the late submission of their application.

“Any victims interested in more information should contact the Victims' Participation Unit on + 961 (4) 538 150 or by e-mail at stl-victims@un.org,” the court added.

 http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2011/Nov-01/152789-stl-says-60-applied-as-victims-in-hariri-case.ashx#axzz1cYU7Z4LC