Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday asked the rival March 14 camp to accept Lebanon’s possible suspension of funds to the U.N.-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon the same as “most of the March 14 forces did not comment on the issue of (the U.S.) suspending UNESCO funds.”

In a televised speech commemorating Hizbullah’s Martyr Day, Nasrallah said “it is useful to notice that the UNESCO, which is an international organization, has acknowledged the state of Palestine, drawing the United States’ anger because it has granted Palestine some of its rights.”

Seven rights groups have demanded that an investigation be launched in allegations that suspected Israeli spy, Tareq al-Rabaa, had been subject to torture while in custody.

They said in a statement that Rabaa was tortured while he was at the Defense Ministry on July 12, 2010, where he was being held for investigation.

Prosecutors at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon asked the court on Friday to summon Lebanese officials to The Hague to hear from them about their powers in the implementation of arrest warrants against four Hizbullah suspects in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination.

During a hearing held at the STL headquarters, Prosecution trial lawyer Iain Morley told three judges and two alternate judges, that “there is an opportunity to assist Lebanese authorities to hearing from them as to what their powers are.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Trial Chamber will make a decision in due course on whether in absentia proceedings should begin in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 assassination case, the STL said on Friday.

The Trial Chamber’s decision would be based on the oral submissions at a hearing held on Friday, the written submissions that were filed by the Prosecution and Defense Office earlier this month and the filings from the Pre Trial judge.

Conflicting reports emerged on Friday over the visit of U.S. Treasury Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Daniel Glaser to Beirut.

An Nahar newspaper reported on Friday that the discussions that took place between Glaser and Lebanese bankers were positive.

Over the past 10 days, lawyer Antoine Korkmaz -- who was appointed by Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s Defense Office as lead counsel for Mustafa Badreddine, the prime suspect in ex-PM Rafik Hariri’s murder – could not be reached on the phone.

Naharnet had repeatedly telephoned Korkmaz’s office in Paris over the past week and his secretary would only say that he was unavailable. It later appeared that he had been taking part in the coordination meetings held last week by the defense counsels at the court’s headquarters in Leidschendam.

Naharnet Exclusive Report – Leidschendam:

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has managed to baffle the defense counsels by voicing his opinion that “it is premature to initiate a trial in absentia.”

Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said Tuesday it was premature to begin a trial in absentia against the accused Hizbullah members, demanding the Lebanese authorities to be heard in the Trial Chamber.

Lebanon's government has so far failed to arrest Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra, wanted for the February 2005 murder of Hariri and 22 others.

Hizbullah sources denied on Friday that it had received word that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon had received a memorandum from former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Marwan Dalal confirming Israel’s involvement in the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The sources told Akhbar al-Yawm news agency: “This is a new test of the STL’s credibility.”

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Tuesday that officials should deal wisely with the funding of the Special Tribunal of Lebanon probing the assassination of ex-Prime minister Rafik Hariri since the timeframe ends at the beginning of March.

“There’s no reason for us to rush with the STL issue,” Berri said in remarks to As Safir newspaper.