Lebanon ex-PM Hariri Assassination Verdict Due August 7

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri listens during a cabinet meeting in Beirut September 20, 2004. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri listens during a cabinet meeting in Beirut September 20, 2004. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
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Lebanon ex-PM Hariri Assassination Verdict Due August 7

Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri listens during a cabinet meeting in Beirut September 20, 2004. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri listens during a cabinet meeting in Beirut September 20, 2004. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi

A UN-backed tribunal into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in a huge suicide bombing on the Beirut seafront in 2005 will deliver its long-awaited verdict on August 7, the court announced on Friday.

Four suspects are on trial over Hariri’s murder. They are Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra, Hussein Oneissi and Hassan Habib Merhi.

The Hague-based Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) said it "issued a scheduling order today for the public pronouncement of the judgment" in the case against the suspects, who are being tried in absentia.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the hearing "will be delivered from the courtroom with partial virtual participation", STL said in a statement.

The court has heard evidence from more than 300 witnesses and amassed 144,000 pages of evidence.



Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
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Tunisians Protest Against President as Jailed Politicians Begin Hunger Strike

Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)
Figures detained on conspiracy charges in Tunisia - ( Ghazi Chaouachi official social media page)

Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.

Saied seized extra powers in 2021 when he shut down the elected parliament and moved to rule by decree before assuming authority over the judiciary. The opposition described his move as a coup, Reuters reported.

Supporters of the opposition Free Constitutional Party gathered in the capital Tunis to demand the release of their detained leader Abir Moussi. They chanted slogans such as "Saied, dictator, your turn has come," and "Free Abir".

"What is happening is true tyranny, no freedom for the opposition, no freedom for the media. Any word can send you to prison," one protester, Hayat Ayari, told Reuters.

Hundreds of supporters of another opposition party, the Salvation Front, staged a separate rally, also in Tunis, to demand the release of detained politicians, activists and journalists.

Six prominent opposition figures detained on conspiracy charges have begun a hunger strike in prison to protest against their impending trial, their lawyers said on Wednesday.

Abdelhamid Jelassi, Jawhar Ben Mbarek, Khiyam Turki, Ridha Belhaj, Issam Chebbi and Ghazi Chaouachi - all detained in 2023 during a crackdown on the opposition - have refused to participate in what they say is an "unfair trial".

Saied said in 2023 that the detainees were "traitors and terrorists" and that the judges who acquitted them were their accomplices.

The detainees have denied any wrongdoing and have said they were preparing an initiative aimed at uniting Tunisia's fragmented opposition.

Most leaders of political parties are now in prison including two of Saied's most prominent opponents, Moussi and Rached Ghannouchi, the head of the Ennahda party.

The government says there is democracy in Tunisia and Saied says he will not be a dictator, but that what he calls a corrupt elite must be held accountable.