STL Overrules Defense Objection to Videoconference Testimony of 9 Witnesses, Prosecution Shows Pictures of Hariri

The Trial Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon on Wednesday overruled objections by the Defense lawyers, who had asked the court not to allow that nine witnesses give their testimonies via videoconference, as the Prosecution exhibited a number of pictures of former premier Rafik Hariri without revealing the significance of the displayed material.

After discussing administrative and logistical issues linked to the February 14, 2005 assassination of ex-PM Hariri, the Prosecution exhibited pictures obtained from the witness Ahmed Ismail, head of the photography department at the al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

The Prosecution's representative said Ismail gave his first testimony on September 1, 2010, noting that he occupied the same post at al-Mustaqbal newspaper in February 2005.

After the Prosecution displayed pictures of ex-PM Hariri and several other figures, Presiding Judge David Re asked the Prosecution's representative to clarify the significance of the pictures and why they are of importance to the case.

The Prosecution replied by saying that Hariri's movements are of importance to the Office of the Prosecutor and that it used pictures to identify the places the ex-PM used to frequent prior to his assassination.

Among the exhibited pictures were one of Hariri and slain minister Bassel Fleihan at the entrance of the parliament building and another of the ex-PM outside the Café de l'Etoile in downtown Beirut that was taken shortly before the attack on February 14, 2005.

Co-prosecutor Alexander Milne said a picture of Hariri's visit to Maronite Archbishop of Beirut Boulos Matar will help the Prosecution verify that he did meet Matar on Feb. 10, 2005.

At that point, the STL Defense said it understood the purpose behind exhibiting the pictures, which might be used as reference during later stages of the trial, but asked for information about the pictures, the individuals, the locations and the times.

The Prosecution then continued its presentation and showed pictures of the blast scene that were taken shortly after the explosion and a picture of ex-PM Hariri with MP Marwan Hamadeh at the Qureitem palace.

The Prosecution's representative noted that not all pictures were personally taken by the witness Ahmed Ismail as some of them were taken by photographers who work under his supervision at al-Mustaqbal newspaper's photography department. She also noted that not all photographers were considered witnesses.

In response to a judge's question, the Prosecution's representative said the blast scene was restricted to public access for around a year.

Co-prosecutor Milne said the yellow police tapes were not visible in the pictures because they were close-ups, adding that all vehicles were removed on the night after the blast. He said experts from a Dutch forensic institute had thoroughly inspected the blast scene before removing the cars one by one.

Milne noted that the pictures were obtained from various sources, noting that a team of Swiss forensic experts had taken pictures of the blast scene.

Before adjourning the session to February 3, Judge Re said the Prosecution had requested that nine witnesses give their testimonies via videoconference and that the Trial Chamber had asked Defense lawyers to submit any observations.

He then announced that the counsel of the accused Assad Sabra did not have any objections while the lawyers of the accused Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine and Hassan Oneissi had objected against resorting to the videoconference system.

But Judge Re approved the Prosecution's request, noting that videoconference testimonies respect the rights of the accused.

Re asked the STL's Registrar to appoint the needed employees to take the testimonies of the nine witnesses via videoconference and asked the court to provide the necessary protection measures to a witness who has requested to give his testimony via videoconference.

In its morning session, the STL Trial Chamber had discussed administrative and logistical issues linked to the February 14, 2005 assassination of ex-PM Hariri.

Seven witnesses have given their testimonies since last week and others are scheduled to give their testimonies starting Monday.

The February 2005 seafront blast killed 22 people including Hariri and wounded 226, leading to the establishment by the United Nations Security Council of the STL in 2007.

Although the attack was initially blamed on four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals, the court in 2011 issued arrest warrants against Badreddine, 52, Salim Ayyash, 50, Hussein Oneissi, 39, and Assad Sabra, 37, all members of Hizbullah.

The four suspects were indicted in 2011 with plotting the attack, but have not been arrested. A fifth, Hassan Habib Merhi, was charged late last year in the case and is also still at large.