STL Schedules 4th Status Conference in Murr-Hawi-Hamade Case

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon's Pre-Trial Judge, Daniel Fransen, will hold a fourth Status Conference on December 16, 2020 with the aim of reviewing the status of the Ayyash case and ensuring the expeditious preparation for trial, through an exchange between the Prosecution, Defense and Legal Representatives of the Victims, the STL said.

The Ayyash case relates to the three attacks against Lebanese politicians Marwan Hamade, Georges Hawi and Elias Murr on 1 October 2004, 21 June 2005 and 12 July 2005 respectively. The Pre-Trial Judge has confirmed an indictment in this case against the Accused -- Hizbullah operative Salim Jamil Ayyash, who is charged with five counts.

In a scheduling order issued Thursday, the Pre-Trial Judge stated that the hearing will begin at 10.00 AM (C.E.T.). The Status Conference will be public; however, the Judge might decide to go into private session during the course of the hearing if confidential matters need to be discussed.

The Status Conference will take place in the STL courtroom, with remote participation via video-conference.

The hearing will be streamed on the STL website with a 30-minute delay in Arabic, English, and French.

The first status conference in the Ayyash case took place on 22 July 2020, the second on 16 September 2020 and the third status conference took place on 4 November 2020.

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

Hizbullah has denied involvement in Hariri's murder and described the court as a hostile plot.