August 15, 2010 - Now Lebanon - Issawi: No set timetable for STL indictment

“There is no set timetable” for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s (STL) indictment in its investigation of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s 2005 assassination, tribunal spokesperson Fatima Issawi told As-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper in an interview published Sunday.

The tribunal follows investigative protocols set by international law and these will determine the indictment’s date, not an “external factor,” she said.

Media outlets have reported that the tribunal would indict Hezbollah members before the end of the year.

When asked about reported leaks to the media from inside the tribunal, Issawi said that the tribunal does not comment on media reports and takes allegations of leaks seriously.

The tribunal has confidence in its mechanisms for internal monitoring, she added.

Minister of State for Administrative Reform Mohammad Fneish said Friday that Hezbollah will submit information requested by the STL to the Lebanese authorities, after a Monday press conference during which Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah showed video footage and the confession of an alleged spy which he said implicate Israel in Hariri’s 2005 assassination.

In July, Nasrallah said that the STL will indict Hezbollah members.

-NOW Lebanon