No evidence of Hezbollah leadership, Syrian govt's involvement in Hariri's assassination: UN Tribunal verdict

(Karachi) A special UN-backed tribunal in the Netherlands announced that there is no evidence the leadership of Hezbollah, or the Syrian government, were involved in the 2005 bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon declared the judgment in the trial of four accused who were charged with conspiracy to kill Hariri and 21 others. Four accused involved in the attack identified as Salim Jalil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra belonged to Hezbollah, Lebanon’s powerful political organization.

Announcing the 2,600 page decision, the judge said: "The trial chamber is of the view that Syria and Hezbollah may have had motives to eliminate Hariri and his political allies, however there is no evidence that the Hezbollah leadership had any involvement in Hariri's murder."

#Assassinat de #Rafic_Hariri: Le #TSL entame la séance consacrée à l’énoncé du #jugement https://t.co/ytPKUEUgUQ

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He added, "There is no direct evidence of Syria's involvement in the incident."

The tribunal stated that the main defendant in the trial of four men charged with conspiracy to kill former Lebanese PM was a member of Hezbollah and used a cell phone in the attack.

The judges said they were satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that the evidence showed that Salim Jamil Ayyash possessed one of six mobiles used by the assassination team.

The tribunal decided that Salim Jamil Ayyash guilty as a co-perpetuator for hatching conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act, committing a terrorist act by means of an explosive device, intentational homicide of Rafiq Hariri, with premeditation by using explosive materials, intentional homicide of 21 person and attempted intentional homicide of 226 persons.

However, the trial chamber declared Hassan Habib Merhi, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra not guilty of all counts charged in the amended consolidated indictment.

Initially, five suspects were tried, all of them Hezbollah members. Charges against one of the group’s top military commanders, Mustafa Badreddine, were dropped after he was killed in Syria in 2016.

The trial started in 2014 and spanned 415 days of hearings. The tribunal in Leidschendam, near The Hague, heard evidence from 297 witnesses.

At the time of the assassination, the people of Lebanon blamed Syria for the incident and enormous protests set off a chain of events that led Syrian forces to withdraw from Lebanon after some 40 years in the country.

On February 14, 2005, former prime minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri was killed along with 21 others in an explosion in Beirut. Explosives equivalent to around 1,000 kilograms of TNT were detonated as his motorcade drove near the St. George Hotel.

Reportedly, 21 people were killed while more than 200 were injured in the attack.