Charbel Says New STL Indictment Will Have 'No Impact' on Lebanon
Caretaker Interior Minister Marwan Charbel ruled out on Saturday that the indictment against Hassan Habib Merhi, the fifth Hizbullah member accused by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to be involved in the assassination of ex-Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, will not have negative repercussion locally.
“The indictment is linked to the tribunal's work and the Lebanese judicial authorities,”Charbel said in comments published in the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper.
He pointed out that “Lebanon is fully cooperating with the STL and carrying out its demands.”
On Thursday, the STL said in a statement that Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen confirmed an indictment against Merhi, who is accused of being involved in the February 14, 2005 Beirut attack that killed the former Premier and 22 others.
Merhi, is charged with a number of crimes including the crime of conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act. He is alleged to have acted in a conspiracy with Hizbullah members Mustafa Amin Badreddine, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra in relation to the attack on February 14, 2005, all of whom have already been indicted.
The accused Merhi is alleged to have coordinated the preparation of the purported claim of responsibility as part of the preparations for and in furtherance of, the attack, said the STL statement.
The STL said Merhi is “a supporter of Hizbullah” who was born on December 12, 1965 in Beirut.
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