New Indictments Possible, Says STL in Fifth Annual Report

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon submitted last week its fifth annual report to the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and to President Michel Suleiman and Prime Minister Tammam Salam, it announced in a statement on Monday.

The start of trial in Ayyash et al. on January 16, 2014, with proceedings broadcast by video-link in Lebanon and internationally, marked a new chapter in the history of the STL.

The report details the tribunal’s activities, achievements and challenges over the past 12 months, and its objectives in the coming year.

It highlights the wide-ranging pre-trial preparations of the Chambers, Office of the Prosecutor, Defense Office, Registry, Defense counsel and Legal Representatives of Victims, the confirmation of a second indictment against Hassan Habib Merhi in July 2013, and the joinder of the Ayyash et al. and Merhi proceedings in February 2014.

“Of vital importance to its judicial work is the tribunal’s commitment to informing the Lebanese people and broader international public about that work, and supporting Lebanon’s wide-reaching efforts to promote the rule of law,” STL President Judge Sir David Baragwanath noted in the report.

“The Tribunal’s four organs continue to engage in an array of public communications and outreach activities, with a special emphasis upon developing relationships with the legal and academic communities in Lebanon, as well as civil society groups.”

The President concluded: “[f]or now the task of the STL is to increase its efforts to complete the task given to it by the Security Council on behalf of the people of Lebanon.”

The Office of the Prosecutor stated in the report that it will continue to investigate three other targeted attacks that have been found to be connected with the assassination former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

“The Prosecutor is considering the prospect of further indictments if the evidence so warrants. During the coming year, a decision will be taken in this regard,” it revealed.

A dedicated Related Cases Team will further analyze and assess whether attacks that occurred after 12 December 2005 may fall within the tribunal’s jurisdiction.

If there is evidence that an attack is connected, the Prosecutor may seek to bring the case within the tribunal’s jurisdiction under Rule 11 or 12 of the Rules. If, on the other hand, Rules 11 and 12 of the Rules are not considered applicable, the Prosecutor will share the material gathered and the analysis undertaken, where possible, with the Lebanese judicial authorities as assistance to their domestic investigations within their jurisdiction.

For 2014, “the Prosecutor will not lose sight of the need for renewed and continued efforts to arrest the Accused,” said the report.

“The Prosecutor will provide whatever assistance possible, in the expected continuation by the Lebanese authorities to take all necessary measures to arrest and transfer the five Accused to the STL,” it stressed.

The fifth annual report is available on the tribunal's website.

The STL is tackling the February 2005 assassination of Hariri and 22 others in Beirut.

It has accused five Hizbullah members of being linked to the attack.

The STL has urged Lebanese authorities to apprehend Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Assad Sabra, Hussein Oneissi, and Hassan Habib Merhi to bring them to justice.

The authorities have however failed to do so and the accused will be tried in absentia.