Marten Youssef Says Tueni Case May Fall within STL Jurisdiction as Berri Slams Campaign against Hizbullah

Spokesman for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Marten Youssef stated that certain conditions need to be met in order for the assassination of MP Gebran Tueni to be added to the cases tackled by the tribunal, reported An Nahar daily on Wednesday.

He told the daily that the date of the assassination falls within the timeframe of the crimes that may be addressed by the STL.

In order for the tribunal to be allowed access to the case, he said that tribunal Prosecutor Norman Farrell must present to Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen the sufficient evidence on the matter.

The pre-trial judge would then determine whether Tueni's case is in fact linked to the February 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, added Youssef.

Should the conditions be met, then Fransen would request Lebanese authorities to refer Tueni's case to the STL, but until then it will remain in their hands, said the tribunal spokesman.

Journalist, MP, and chairman of the board of directors of An Nahar newspaper Tueni was assassinated on December 12, 2005.

On Saturday al-Arabiya television broadcast a report with a document alleging that Syria and Hizbullah intelligence were linked to the crime.

The party on Sunday issued a statement denying the report and accusing the March 14 camp of taking advantage of the “baseless accusations fabricated by the Saudi network Al-Arabiya and attributed to Syrian opposition activists, including those related to the assassination of MP Gebran Tueni.”

Attorney for the Tueni family MP Butros Harb demanded on Tuesday that the case be referred to the STL, revealing that a lawsuit had been filed against the Syrian officials linked to the crime and mentioned in the document.

MP Nayla Tueni, the late lawmaker's daughter, had written an article in An Nahar on October 8, requesting that Hizbullah clarify or deny its position on al-Arabiya's report, renewing her commitment to the STL.

She also said on Tuesday that her family is not seeking to politicize her father's murder, stressing that it is only seeking the truth.

“The positive thing about Hizbullah's statement on the affair is its announcement that it is awaiting the results of the investigation,” she noted.

Speaker Nabih Berri, meanwhile, praised to An Nahar on Wednesday Tueni's position, questioning however the media campaign against Hizbullah.

“The party stated that it is awaiting the results of the investigation, but some side are unfortunately seeking to exploit the issue and others to achieve various goals,” he said.

“It seems that such a campaign is directed against a national and central party in Lebanon. The AMAL movement and Free Patriotic Movement may be next,” he noted.

“The current phase in Lebanon requires us to steer away from such campaigns because the country is in need of national unity,” he explained.