A UN-backed court probing the assassination of Lebanon's former prime minister Rafiq Hariri said Wednesday it had enough evidence to try four Hezbollah members, as it published the full indictment. While the court had previously named the four suspects, its decision to release more than 20,000 pages of evidence was welcomed back in Lebanon by the slain former premier's son as an historic move which should ensure justice.
In a statement, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said that the pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen had "found the prosecution presented sufficient evidence on a prima facie basis to proceed to trial" in connection with the car bombing in February 14, 2005, which killed Hariri and 22 others.
The court's chief prosecutor Daniel A. Bellemare welcomed the statement with former Lebanese premier and Rafiq Hariri's son Saad Hariri, urging Hezbollah to turn over the four men indicted in the case. Prosecutors had previously confirmed that they were indicting Salim Ayyash, 47, Mustafa Badreddine, 50, Hussein Anaissi, 37 and Assad Sabra, 34, for the massive attack. All are members of the Iran-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah.
Ayyash and Badreddine face charges of "committing a terrorist act by means of an explosive device" and homicide, while Anaissi and Sabra faced charges of conspiring to commit the same acts. Tribunal prosecutor Bellemare said the order to unseal the indictment "will finally inform the public and the victims about the facts alleged in the indictment regarding the commission of the crime that led to charging the four accused."
More than 20,000 pages of evidence were filed with the indictment which Bellemare's office claimed "corroborates the following factual allegations and charges included in the indictment." The prosecutor accused Badreddine of "being the overall controller of the attack," said a summary of the indictment.
"Ayyash co-ordinated the assassination team that was responsible for the physical perpetration of the attack," it added. "Anaissi and Sabra, in addition to being conspirators, prepared and delivered a false claim of responsibility video, which sought to blame the wrong people," the prosecution said. It claimed an assassination team "consisting of Ayyash and others positioned themselves in several locations where they were able to track and observe Hariri's convoy."
It also gives a timeline of Hariri's movements up until 12:55 local time, when a "male suicide bomber detonated a large quantity of explosives concealed in the cargo area of a... van, killing Hariri and 21 other victims and injuring 231." Apart from Ayyash's role, the prosecution alleged Anaissi and Sabra called two international news organisations shortly after the attack and told them they could find a video tape placed in a Beirut square.
The tribunal itself stressed the prosecution's findings "does not imply that the individuals are guilty, but merely establishes that there is enough material for them to be tried." "The prosecution will have to prove at trial that the accused are guilty 'beyond reasonable doubt," it added. Saad Hariri, who is himself a former Lebanese prime minister, said Wednesday he hoped Hezbollah would hand over the four men.
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