STL: We Have No Comment to Make on Identity of those Accused

The Pre-Trial Judge, Daniel Fransen, issued on Friday July 8 international arrest warrants against the accused in the February 14, 2005 attack in which former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and many others were killed, said the Special Tribunal for Lebanon press office in a statement.

The Tribunal has requested Interpol to notify all States of the arrest warrants following a request from STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, it added.

Fransen’s decision authorized the Office of the Prosecutor to provide Interpol with the necessary information to issue a “red notice” against each accused, it continued.

The issuing of international warrants comes after the confirmation of an indictment and its transmission along with domestic arrest warrants to the Lebanese authorities on June 30, 2011, it said.

“The confirmation of that indictment means that the Pre-Trial Judge has ruled that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial,” it noted.

“The indictment remains confidential, and at this stage the STL has no comment to make about the identity of those accused,” said the press office statement.

Over the weekend, Interpol issued alerts calling for the arrest of four Hizbullah members suspected of being involved in Hariri’s assassination.