Fransen to Hold Status Conference on November 27

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen will hold a hearing on November 27 as “part of his duties to ensure that the proceedings are not unduly delayed,” said the STL in a statement on Wednesday.

The Status Conference, which will begin at 2:30 pm (Central European time), will be public, it added.

“However, the judge might decide to go into closed session during the course of the hearing if confidential matters need to be discussed,” added the statement.

The tribunal had announced that the trial of the four Hizbullah suspects accused of involvement in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will begin on March 25.

The accused, Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra are wanted for the February 2005 suicide car bomb attack in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others, including the suicide bomber.

Ayyash has been named in the indictment as coordinator of the assassination team.

The court has said Lebanon must try harder to apprehend them.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has said he doubted the four indictees will ever be found and has branded the tribunal a U.S.-Israeli conspiracy aimed at bringing down the party.

Ayyash and Badreddine face five charges including that of "committing a terrorist act by means of an explosive device" and homicide, while Oneissi and Sabra faced charges of conspiring to commit the same acts.