STL Pre-Trial Judge Transfers Complete Case File in Hariri Assassination to Trial Chamber

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen completed the transfer of the entire file in the case of the 2005 assassination of former Premier RafikHariri to the Trial Chamber, announced the STL in a statement on Monday.

The case filed contains the evidence and all other documents that relate to the case.

The Trial Chamber will now continue to prepare for the start of trial, which is scheduled tentatively for January 13, 2014.

The indictment against the four Hizbullah members— Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra – was confirmed in June 2011.

A fifth Hizbullah supporter, Hassan Habib Merhi, was revealed by the STL in October.

“The transfer of the case file is a significant development in the proceedings of the Ayyash et al. case and it marks the start of the transition from the pre-trial to the trial phase,” explained the STL statement.

During trial, the Prosecution, Defense Counsel and the Legal Representatives of the Victims will present their arguments before the judges of the Trial Chamber.

STL judges decided in 2012 that the Tribunal can try the accused in their absence, which is permissible under Lebanese Law. The five accused remain at large, but the Lebanese authorities have an ongoing obligation to search for, arrest and transfer the accused to STL custody.

According to the Tribunal’s rules, the pre-trial judge is required to submit a complete file in order to allow the Trial Chamber to be seized of the case.

A publicly redacted version of the confidential report accompanying the transfer of the case will be available in due course.

It is now for the Trial Chamber to confirm a final date for the start of trial, added the STL in its press release.

A public hearing will be held on Tuesday by the Trial Chamber judges to discuss matters related to the preparation of trial.

Hariri was assassinated in a major suicide car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

Twenty-two others were also killed in the attack.