STL Defense Office Assigns Duty Counsel for Accused in Hariri Murder

The head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office Francois Roux assigned a primary duty counsel and a co-counsel to each of the accused, pursuant to the Trial Chamber’s scheduling order of 20 October 2011, announced the STL in a statement on Wednesday.

“The purpose of these assignments is to ensure that the rights and interests of the accused are individually protected while the Trial Chamber considers whether to initiate in absentia proceedings,” it explained.

The head of Defense Office made the following assignments:

-For Salim Jamil Ayyash: as lead counsel Mr. Eugene O’Sullivan, a Canadian national admitted to the Law Society of British Columbia; and as co-counsel Mr. Emile Aoun, a Lebanese national admitted to the Beirut Bar

-For Mustafa Amine Badreddine: as lead counsel Mr. Antoine Korkmaz, a Lebanese and French national admitted to the Paris Bar; and as co-counsel Mr. John Jones a British national admitted to the Bar of England and Wales

-For Hussein Hassan Oneissi: as lead counsel Mr. Vincent Courcelle-Labrousse, a French national admitted to the Paris Bar, and as co-counsel Mr. Yasser Hassan, an Egyptian national admitted to the Egyptian Bar

-For Assad Hassan Sabra: as lead counsel Mr. David Young, a British national admitted to the Bar of England and Wales, and as co-counsel Dr. Guénaël Mettraux, a Swiss national practicing before the International Criminal Court and the International Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

The assignment of duty counsel is a temporary assignment, said the statement.

“The eight duty counsel have been selected based on their relevant experience, skills and competences, including experience in Lebanon, terrorism cases, or international tribunals as well as their language abilities,” it added.

“The selection of the Lead counsel was done by the Defense Office, with no involvement from any of the four accused,” it continued.

The co-counsel are appointed in consultation with the Lead counsel, said the statement.

“Should the Trial Chamber decide to initiate in absentia proceedings, the Defense Office will be requested to assign defense counsel for the remainder of the proceedings,” it stated.

Furthermore, it noted that should the Trial Chamber decide not to initiate in absentia proceedings, duty counsel may be withdrawn.

“The duty counsel shall also be withdrawn if the accused decide to participate in the proceedings, for example by designating their own counsel. The assigned counsel are paid in accordance with the Defense Legal Aid Policy,” it concluded.

In August, the STL published the indictment in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri along with arrest warrants against the four Hizbullah members, Ayyash, Badreddine, Oneissi, and Sabra, accused of being involved in the crime.

The Lebanese authorities were given 30 days to arrest the suspects, but they failed to do so and the accused remain at large.

As Safir newspaper reported on Wednesday that the eight defense lawyers are expected to attend the scheduled hearing on November, 11.

The hearing is set to decide whether to try in absentia the four suspects accused in the case.

Sources told the newspaper that the defense lawyers are expected to defend the suspects during the opening of the trial in mid-2012.