The U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon will issue a new indictment in the case of the 2005 assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri by the end of this month, Prime Minister Najib Miqati said on Tuesday.
"Daniel Bellemare, the chief prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, informed me on his recent visit to Beirut that he would submit a new revised indictment before leaving office end of February," Miqati told Agence France Presse.
Full StoryFormer Prime Minsiter Saad Hairi stressed on Tuesday that the Syrian revolution will triumph.
He declared: “I will bear the responsibility of my solidarity with the Syrian people.”
Full StoryPhalange Party leader Amin Gemayel stated on Tuesday that the spirit of slain former Premier Rafik Hariri has returned with the wave of Arab revolts and with the release of the indictment in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
He asked: “Is it logical for us to back Arabs revolting against their regimes and accept that the Lebanese remain captive to the illegitimate arms?”
Full StoryThe Special Tribunal for Lebanon cooperation protocol is expected to pass automatically without any local fuss on the issue amid the cabinet’s impasse, according to newspapers published on Monday.
The Lebanese authorities will not submit any comments on U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon’s decision to extend the mandate of the court probing the assassination of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, sources told As Safir newspaper.
Full StoryThe opposition March 14 coalition will mark on Tuesday the 7th anniversary of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination at a gathering of politicians, diplomats, activists and academicians that will be held in BIEL.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who is recuperating at his house in Paris from fractures in his leg, will make a speech through a giant screen at the event that starts at 4:00 pm.
Full StoryPrime Minister Najib Miqati ruled out on Monday the return of political assassinations in Lebanon, saying that any leads in this matter are being tackled by the concerned security authorities.
He told LBC television that will be broadcast later on Monday: “Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare informed me that he will release an updated version of the indictment in the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri.”
Full StoryThe Presidency and the Foreign Ministry received a letter from United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon inquiring if Lebanon had any comments on the renewal of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon cooperation protocol, local newspapers reported on Monday.
Ban revealed that he is willing to renew the court’s mandate for further three years, An Nahar newspaper reported.
Full StoryPrime Minister Najib Miqati expressed confidence on Saturday that the army will be able to restore order in the northern coastal city of Tripoli, Praising the Lebanese-French bilateral relation after a meeting with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe.
“The Lebanese army will be able to play its role; we have confidence in its leadership. I contacted army commander General Jean Qahwaji and I am confident that the army will restore order (in Tripoli),” Miqati told reporters in the French capital Paris.
Full StoryThe Victims’ Participation Unit of the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has submitted to STL Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen “73 applications from individuals who claim to have suffered physical, material or mental harm as a result of the 14 February 2005 (bomb) attack” that killed ex-PM Rafik Hariri and 22 other people, the STL said in a statement on Friday.
“A decision on each application will be made in due course by the Pre-Trial Judge,” it noted.
Full StorySpecial Tribunal for Lebanon spokesman Marten Youssef stressed on Thursday that Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare could refer a new indictment secretly to Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen without revealing its context.
“The court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence give the prosecutor two ways to refer an indictment to the pre-trial judge either discreetly, or he can refer it without revealing its context (to the public),” Youssef told An Nahar newspaper.
Full Story