STL Dismisses Motion Challenging Connectedness of Attacks

Trial Chamber II of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has confirmed the court’s jurisdiction to try Salim Ayyash in relation to the attacks on George Hawi, Elias Murr and Marwan Hamadeh, the STL said on Thursday.

“In a decision issued today, Trial Chamber II found that there is no reason to decline to exercise its jurisdiction in this case, as it considers that the requirements of Article 1 of the Statute have been met when it comes to the connectedness between the three attacks pleaded in the indictment and the 14 February 2005 attack,” the STL said in a statement.

“Trial Chamber II notably found that all four attacks were connected by virtue of a shared or similar criminal purpose, which consisted of carrying out political murders using explosive devices as part of a broader plan to create a state of terror amongst the population,” it added.

The Chamber accordingly dismissed a motion filed by Defense Counsel for Ayyash which had argued that the Pre-Trial Judge’s Connected Case Decision of 5 August 2011 erred in ruling that each of the three attacks is connected to the attack of 14 February 2005 and within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction.

According to the statement, the decision may be subject to appeal.

The Ayyash case is currently in the pre-trial phase and a second status conference is scheduled for Wednesday, September 16.

Ayyash has been found guilty by the court in the case of the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri while three other Hizbullah members were acquitted.