Since the end of trials in absentia of the four Hezbollah security cadres accused of plotting and executing the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14, 2005, judges of the Trial Chamber at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), presided by Judge David Re, are working to issue the verdict by the beginning of summer.
But this has not dispelled the concerns of the majority of Lebanese, who are eager for justice and questioning the reasons behind the delay in the verdict more than five months after the end of trials.
Several observers have expressed understanding for such fears based on previous experiences and failures to uncover the truth behind political assassinations that occurred during and after Lebanon's civil war, mainly due to the control of the de facto forces, whether through foreign tutelage or partisan influence.
However, sources monitoring the STL progress predicted that “verdicts in the Hariri assassination case would be issued early next summer, in three or four months at the latest.”
“The causes of delay are justified, due to the presence of more than 6 million papers and documents that are now being examined, scrutinized and abbreviated,” the sources explained.
They added that the task is carried out by legal assistants, currently working on sorting and classifying the papers since the end of the trials under the supervision of the Trial Chamber judges.
These documents constitute scientific and technical evidence, expert reports, witness statements and others, according to the sources, who also noted that the final verdict would come in up to 1,000 pages, and in three languages - Arabic, English and French.
The verdict is expected to be issued in absentia against Hezbollah members Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra. On July 11, 2016, the Appeals Chamber ordered the termination of the proceedings against Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine, who has been killed in Damascus.
According to former Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar, the tribunal gave the defense team all the legal and moral guarantees.
Najjar said: “The STL system is far more sophisticated than that of other international courts… I am satisfied that this tribunal met the Lebanese people’s expectations.”
As for the political criticism directed at the STL by those affected by it, namely Hezbollah and its allies, the former minister did not express surprise at such accusations “because the assassination of [former] Prime Minister Rafik Hariri resulted in political repercussions at the internal and regional levels, which led the UN Security Council to approve the establishment of the tribunal under Article VII of the UN Charter.”
