Bellemare Files Amended Indictment Containing ‘Substantive New Elements’
The Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Bellemare, filed an amended indictment on Friday, replacing the indictment of March 11, 2011, to include substantive new elements unavailable until recently.
The Prosecutor does not intend to make further amendments to the indictment, unless ordered to do so by the Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen, said the STL press office in a statement on Friday.
Other indictments could, however, be filed in the future if warranted by the evidence, it added.
“The amendment of an indictment or the filing of new indictments is and will continue to be guided solely by the evidence uncovered by the ongoing investigation”, the Prosecutor stated.
The original Indictment was filed on January 17, 2011, in connection with the attack on former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and others on 14 February 2005.
Whilst there is no fixed timeframe for the review of the indictment and the supporting material the Pre-Trial Judge is working to complete this process as quickly as possible following this amendment, said the press office.
To ensure that the review is fair and just the large volume of supporting material must be examined carefully and comprehensively, it added.
It is anticipated that this will be completed in the coming months, it revealed.
The Pre-Trial Judge can confirm or dismiss the indictment in its entirety, or alternatively reject some counts and confirm others, it said
The press office statement concluded that the indictment and the accompanying evidence remain confidential and any disclosure of its contents might amount to contempt.
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