By Willow Osgood
BEIRUT: U.N. Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon announced Wednesday that Norman Farrell will be the Special Tribunal
for Lebanon prosecutor.
Farrell takes over the position from
Daniel Bellemare, who had served as prosecutor since 2009 and announced last
year that, for health reasons, he would resign at end of February.
Farrell is a Canadian jurist with
extensive experience in international law, currently serving as deputy
prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
The ICTY’s prosecutor is Serge Brammertz, who led the U.N. International
Independent Investigation Commission – the STL’s predecessor – from 2006 to
007.
As STL prosecutor, Farrell will take
on the case against the four members of Hezbollah who were indicted in the 2005
assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Proceedings in absentia
against the accused are expected to get under way this year.
He will also be responsible for the
ongoing investigation and any further indictments in the Hariri case or
connecting cases.
The secretary-general also announced
the appointment of Ugandan Judge Daniel David Ntanda Nsereko to take the late
Antonio Cassese’s seat in the court’s Appeals Chamber. Following Cassese’s
resignation, Judge David Baragwanath was elected as STL president, but the
Appeals Chamber, normally comprised of three international and two Lebanese
judges, remained one judge short.
Following the United Nations’
announcement, STL spokesperson Marten Youssef said the court welcomed the
appointments.
“Their respective roles are vital to the
tribunal as we continue with our mandate,” Youssef said.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Mar-01/165117-united-nations-appoints-norman-farrell-as-stl-prosecutor.ashx#axzz1nr6UypeJ
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