Hamadeh: 'Unified' STL Indictment Could Be 'Referred' End of Feb.
MP Marwan Hamadeh has revealed that Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare could refer a “unified” indictment to the pre-trial judge before the end of his mandate.
In remarks to Future News on Wednesday, Hamadeh said the court has informed him that the indictment in the assassination attempt against him on Oct. 2004 and ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 murder “will be unified and will be referred before Bellemare quits his mission for health reasons.”
Bellemare, whose mandate expires end of this month, has informed U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon that he does not intend to seek reappointment for a second term as prosecutor.
In August, the STL linked the attempted murders of the lawmaker and former Defense Minister Elias Murr and the killing of ex-Communist party leader George Hawi to Hariri’s assassination.
Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen ruled that the prosecutor had presented “prima facie evidence” that each of the three cases are connected, and are thus within the tribunal's jurisdiction.
The indictment in Hariri’s murder was made public the same month. But it was not clear how the indictment in the two cases would be “unified” as claimed by Hamadeh.
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