BEIRUT:
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon opened the second day of hearings Thursday on
defense pretrial motions challenging the court’s legality and jurisdiction.
The
trial chamber heard first from Peter Haynes, an attorney assigned to represent
the victims of the 2005 attack that killed former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
After
Haynes, the defense took the floor, beginning with Antoine Korkmaz, who
represents Mustafa Badreddine. Korkmaz reiterated many of the arguments
presented the day before, listing a number of “legal oddities” in United
Nations Security Council Resolution 1757, which established the court in 2007.
The
prosecution is expected to address the court following the defense.
After
the hearing, the chamber will consider the arguments and rule on its own
jurisdiction to try the case.
According
to a statement from the court, if the judges of the chamber rule that the court
“has no competence to deal with the crimes under its jurisdiction,” the STL
could, pending an appeal, cease operation.
The
ruling, for which a date has yet to be set, could come before the judges go on
recess in late July.
In
June of 2011, the STL indicted four Hezbollah members for involvement in the
2005 assassination of Hariri. The U.N. made a landmark decision earlier this
year to hold in absentia proceedings against the accused.
The
resistance party has denied the allegations against its members, accusing the
court of being an Israeli-U.S. tool targeting Hezbollah and aiming to sow
strife in the country.
For the court's
proceedings, click on the following link: http://www.stl-tsl.org/
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Jun-14/176833-day-2-of-hearing-challenging-stl-legality-under-way.ashx#axzz1xnReWakn
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