The leader of Hezbollah has said the group is not involved in the sentencing of a United Nations-backed tribunal over the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on August 18.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is expected to deliver its verdict on Tuesday to four suspects, all of whom were tried in absentia and are suspected members of Hezbollah.
“We do not feel concerned by the decisions of the STL,” faction leader Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised address on Friday.
“For us, it will be as if no decision has ever been announced,” he said. “If our brothers are unjustly condemned, as we expect, we will preserve their innocence.”
Nasrallah has repeatedly expressed similar views, completely rejecting the jurisdiction and independence of the court, which is based in the Netherlands.
The dead former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, himself a former Prime Minister of Lebanon, is expected in The Hague for the verdict.
The four suspects went on trial in 2014 at the expense of, among others, the “intentional murder” of Rafik Hariri and 21 others, attempted murder of 226 people injured in the 2005 bombing that killed Hariri, and conspiracy to commit a “terrorist” to perform action.
Nasrallah warned that “some will try to exploit the STL to target the resistance and Hezbollah”, but urged his supporters to “be patient” when the decision is announced.
Observers have expressed fears that the verdict, however it may be, could escalate violence on the streets of Lebanon between Hezbollah and Hariri supporters.
Hezbollah demands unity government
Nasrallah also called for the establishment of a national unity government in Lebanon, days after the cabinet fired amid outrage over the devastating Beirut blast on August 4, which killed about 200 people.
The government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab fired on Monday over the explosion, was widely accused of negligence and corruption by the ruling class of the country.
In his second speech since the explosion, Nasrallah dismissed the idea of a “neutral government” as a “waste of time” for a country where power and influence are divided according to religious sects.
“We do not believe there are neutrals [candidates] in Lebanon for us to a [neutral] government, “said Nasrallah.
Instead, the Hezbollah chief called for a model of government that has lasted for years, despite prolonged political and economic crisis and demands for change.
“We advocate for attempts to form a national unity government, and if that is not possible, then a government is securing the broadest representation possible for politicians and experts,” Nasrallah said.
“We advocate for a strong government, a potential government, a government that is politically protected,” he said.
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