Hizbullah Refused to Meet Head of STL Defense Office
Hizbullah rejected a suggestion to hold a meeting with the head of the Defense Office of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Francois Roux aimed at studying the possibility of the confronting the indictment, revealed widely informed sources to the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Sunday.
They explained that the meeting would have explained to the party leadership the seriousness of the Defense’s work, as well as the possibility of overturning the accusations against Hizbullah members indicted in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The party leadership however stressed that it will not back down from its decision to not cooperate with the international tribunal after labeling it as politicized and an American-Israeli tool aimed at destroying the party.
The sources added that the meeting would have demonstrated to Hizbullah that Roux is serious in his mission in defending the accused, pointing out that he had also enlisted the help of prominent lawyers to assist him in his mission.
Furthermore, they revealed that the suggestion was made a while before the indictment in the STL was issued and after Hizbullah escalated its campaign against the court.
The STL issued arrest warrants against four Hizbullah members suspected of being involved in Hariri’s 2005 assassination.
Interpol sent alerts to Lebanon and 186 countries on Saturday ordering the apprehension of the suspects.
If they are not arrested in 30 days after the release of the warrants, then the suspects will be tried in absentia.
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