BEIRUT: Witness testimony at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Thursday focused on mapping communication between suspects in an attempt to demonstrate collusion in the months leading up to the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Prosecutor Nigel Povoas questioned witness Gary Platt, an expert in covert cellular networks, on activity by the five defendants to establish their whereabouts at key moments.
They used this to demonstrate collusion and surveillance of Hariri in significant locations, focusing on Hariri’s residence in Qoreitem and a villa in the Kesrouan village of Faqra.
The prosecution has alleged that conspirators were organized into several phone networks coded by color into the “blue network,” “green network,” “red network” and “purple network.”
The prosecution presented the trial chamber with call sequence tables and call site data that have been critical to the prosecution’s case.
In cross-referencing the location within the records, Platt said there was a clear pattern of arrangement, as phones went unused for long periods and then several would make calls to each other in quick succession. There must have been a “prearrangement to make ... calls on [specific] days,” and it was “not a coincidence that [phones] were reactivated on the same day after long periods of no activity,” Platt said. He added that the short call duration showed the phones were used as “a tool to arrange things, not discuss things.”
When pressed by Thomas Hannis, defense co-counsel representing Salim Ayyash, on the significance of the call patterns, Platt responded that the regular “trigger calls” within the vicinity of the Faqra villa between Subject 6, an unattributed phone that is said to have had a prominent coordination role, and the phone attributed to Ayyash near the Qoreitem residence showed a clear command structure to the co-conspirators.
The prosecution measured the call patterns and distance between the green network which consisted of accused suspects Hassan Merhi and Ayyash and their contact with suspect Mustafa Badreddine who was said to be in “close proximity.”
The prosecution also argued that Badreddine was the commander of the assassination, given his familiarity with the route between the Faqra villa and Beirut. Both the prosecution and Platt were challenged on several occasions throughout the day’s proceeding over speculation.
The defense counsel regularly attested that while it may be possible record call times and durations, it was not possible to ascertain from this the reason for or content of the calls.
The STL resumes Friday.
They used this to demonstrate collusion and surveillance of Hariri in significant locations, focusing on Hariri’s residence in Qoreitem and a villa in the Kesrouan village of Faqra.
The prosecution has alleged that conspirators were organized into several phone networks coded by color into the “blue network,” “green network,” “red network” and “purple network.”
The prosecution presented the trial chamber with call sequence tables and call site data that have been critical to the prosecution’s case.
In cross-referencing the location within the records, Platt said there was a clear pattern of arrangement, as phones went unused for long periods and then several would make calls to each other in quick succession. There must have been a “prearrangement to make ... calls on [specific] days,” and it was “not a coincidence that [phones] were reactivated on the same day after long periods of no activity,” Platt said. He added that the short call duration showed the phones were used as “a tool to arrange things, not discuss things.”
When pressed by Thomas Hannis, defense co-counsel representing Salim Ayyash, on the significance of the call patterns, Platt responded that the regular “trigger calls” within the vicinity of the Faqra villa between Subject 6, an unattributed phone that is said to have had a prominent coordination role, and the phone attributed to Ayyash near the Qoreitem residence showed a clear command structure to the co-conspirators.
The prosecution measured the call patterns and distance between the green network which consisted of accused suspects Hassan Merhi and Ayyash and their contact with suspect Mustafa Badreddine who was said to be in “close proximity.”
The prosecution also argued that Badreddine was the commander of the assassination, given his familiarity with the route between the Faqra villa and Beirut. Both the prosecution and Platt were challenged on several occasions throughout the day’s proceeding over speculation.
The defense counsel regularly attested that while it may be possible record call times and durations, it was not possible to ascertain from this the reason for or content of the calls.
The STL resumes Friday.
Source & Link : the Daily Star
No comments:
Post a Comment