Prosecution Unveils Route Taken by Booby-Trapped Truck to Reach St. Georges
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
The Hague - Naharnet Exclusive
The opening session of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon trials witnessed a recollection of the bloody scenes of February 14, 2005, as the incidents of that day were demonstrated through pictures, videos and the oversized maquette of the crime scene which was placed in the middle of the courtroom.
These scenes evoked feelings of sadness and grief among the families of the victims and culminated to anger against the perpetrators of the crime. Some of the relatives sat inside the courtroom, led by former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who seemed to be fastened to his seat for long hours as if he was not believing what his eyes were seeing.
The wife of one of the February 14 victims said the Prosecution's demonstration introduced her to previously unheard-of details about her husband's martyrdom.
Although the Prosecution did not exhibit during the first day anything other than the details of the indictment that was announced several months ago, observers who attended the session stopped at a number of new elements that the Prosecution had never mentioned in the past and which he is expected to thoroughly address as the trials move forward.
The new elements that were revealed during the opening session can be summarized as follows:
1. The information about the “green” mobile phone network which was used for months by a group involved in the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri: It turned out that the mobile phone lines were postpaid rather than prepaid and were purchased using nine fake identification papers – one ID for each two lines.
One person was tasked with paying the bills at the main headquarters of the Alfa mobile phone operator in Furn al-Shebbak for a long period of time. It was noteworthy during the Prosecution's demonstration the information that five of these lines were permanently terminated on October 1, 2004 – the day of the attempt on MP Marwan Hamadeh's life. This fact could become the basis of linking the Hamadeh case to Hariri's case at the judicial level.
2. For the first time ever, the Prosecution announces that the telecom data evidence is backed up by other pieces of evidence that have nothing to do with the so-called “co-location.” The Prosecution also hinted that the content of some SMSes that are in its possession would clarify the identities of the users of some mobile phone lines that were used in the crime.
3. The Prosecution did not settle for the evidence of co-location between mobile phone lines to defend its accusations. It demonstrated two other points that are of the same importance: the first tackled the political stances and decisions that prompted the criminals to launch the process of monitoring Hariri's activities as well as the elements that led to intensifying the surveillance actions, while the second point addressed the movements of ex-PM Hariri and his shuttling between his Qureitem residence, the presidential palace in Baabda, the parliament building in downtown Beirut, the Beirut airport and his house in Faqra, Kesrouan.
4. For the first time ever, the Prosecution reveals that it has documented information about the routes that are relatively far from the crime scene that were taken by the booby-trapped Mitsubishi truck. All the previous available footage showed the truck as it approached the Phoenicia Hotel. But the videos exhibited by the Prosecution on Thursday included footage taken from cameras that captured the entry and exit of the truck to and from the Suleiman Franjieh Tunnel, which can only be accessed from three routes: the Salim Salam-Zoqaq al-Blat tunnel, Beshara al-Khoury and Ashrafiyeh. This presentation could be the prelude to new videos that would show how the truck came from locations that are beyond the Suleiman Franjieh Tunnel.
Specialists in criminal cases are saying that the Prosecution could not have demonstrated all the evidence it has in the indictment it issued months ago or in the presentation it made during the opening session of the trials. They are also saying that according to the history of criminal trials, it is safe to say that what's awaiting the accused is a lot more than what has already been announced until the moment, and that the Prosecution possesses undisclosed information that surpass anything imagined by those who are questioning the STL and its capabilities.
17 January 2014, 03:44
54
for southern and alike, it is not worth spending money and time to unveil the killing of m14 leaders. after all they are pro israeli, takfiris, and wahhabis. so is the STL.
17 January 2014, 04:32
52
Fellow lebanese OPEN YOUR EYES and read HIZBALLA killed our beloved hariri see clear ya jama3a ou choufou wat hizballa did ,ya3bichoum aleyhon ,di3anak ya rafiq
17 January 2014, 04:51
67
Definitly Israel came to frangieh tunnel and assassinated harriri sothat they could win the tabbouli contest in the middle east, and we have details that Israel was behind everything which is why the suspects have transgender operation and never be caught.
Signed ashraf al nas: hassouna
Legendary: lanabqa non paying electricity resistance.
17 January 2014, 07:50
54
ya hmar, even ksa is supporting the STL no like your beloved iran, syria and hizbullah who refuse justice and only understand the language of assassination.
17 January 2014, 09:12
14
Oh which Saint is driving the Canter? is it Saint moustafa?... no Saint moustafa was monitoring the road for 4 month it must be another Saint of his group! Lebanon will be reborn when hizbelzbele dies.. its either Lebanon or hizbo.
17 January 2014, 13:35
20
I think the STL is doing its job quite good, with an end result to have a bunch of young Lebanese coming back to the roots of their ancestors who destroyed our country and playing the same tape that their respective politicians have made us listen to since 1975 and more specifically since 2005.
History is full of assassinations of global figures, and sledom the world was able to know the party behind it. Tough to believe that now we are going to be able to pinpoint the criminal when we are a country with the most active global secret service teams. It is a blame game at its best and the loser is you.
Congrats to all of you posting comments on a daily basis on naharnet for over couple years now (yes I read most of them since July 2011). This is the first time I post because you disgust me and the minority that I belong to, which believes that one day our country could be a place we call home.
17 January 2014, 13:48
31
The truth hurts when it comes out for those who have no respect to The statesmen Eid, Hajj, and Wissam Hassan. Those who are tapping the state telecommunication network and stealing the state infrastructure for their own agenda, already proven two things: militia will not give the arms, we own the state and will do the necessary to obtain our goals.
17 January 2014, 14:18
31
Hey waleed121 in 1983 hizbollah sent truck laden with TNT in to the American embassy compound and killed over 200 US marines you should have seen the size of the whole that made and there were no drones around in that time . Ask your self how did Ghazi kenaan commit suicide with 3 bullets in his head and Imad mugnieh got blown to bits why because they eliminated witnesses and evidence
17 January 2014, 17:09
01
You know when a missile is detonated it leaves traces , by the way what would izrael gain by killing hariri ? nothing . Hariri in an interview on cnn in 2004 you can google it was asked about energy resources that have been discovered off lebanon shore and what he had planned for it he stated that in time those resource would be accessed but lebanon had to sort out it self politically because of outside influences he was killed because he was saudi arabia's yes man popular among the constituence by i beleive the syrian regime through its tools in hizbollah assisted by syrian , iranian , intelligence agents and some lebanese rats , some of these people have been eliminated to limit evidence but you see they didn't count on it becoming a international investigation where the US and allies have access to all comunication data which was provided to investigators .
17 January 2014, 17:13
10
Saudi arabia will get its way in any case because they control all arab wealth look at the lebanese banks who do you think most of the money belongs to they can shut down the lebanese economy anytime just by taking money out of the banks
17 January 2014, 17:26
10
Anyway this is my theory on this and i may not be correct but you can only look at the evidence thats presented in front of you.
17 January 2014, 19:09
00
Hizballa would do anything for iran including reforms in all lebanon to turn it to an islamic garbage country di3anak ya libnan....with these kinda ppl ,btw ra3id was hinting about clothing nightclubs clubs,no one no one !!! Would give these idiots to control our life never ever......let them go to hell and live in iran
