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Beirut – The Special Tribunal for Lebanon decided on Monday to hold a second preliminary session in the case of Salim Ayyash, the main suspect in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, on September 16.
Ayyash is a member of the Lebanese Hezbollah, whose Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah announced in advance, even before the first decision session, that he would not accept the outcome of the trial and that he was not worried about anything.
A circular issued by the Lahia-based court stated that “the investigating judge of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Fransen, will hold a second preliminary hearing on September 16.”
“The session aims to review the state of the file of Ayyash, 56, and ensure a speedy preparation for the trial through an exchange of views between the prosecution, the defense and the legal representatives of those affected,” said.
The circular also said: “The session will be public, but the judge may decide to close it if it is necessary to discuss confidential matters.”
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon held the first preliminary session in the Ayyash case on July 22.
According to the judicial laws, the investigating judge requests a preliminary hearing in a period not exceeding 8 weeks from the date of the first appearance of the accused or equivalent in absent proceedings.
The judge also calls for preliminary hearings to be held within 8 weeks of the first session, during the pre-trial process, until the case is ready for the trial phase.
On August 18, the court delivered its final verdict in the Hariri case. Ayyash, a member of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, was convicted for his role in the 2005 assassination, which was followed by a series of killings of journalists and politicians.
The court acquitted the other three defendants, namely Hassan Habib Marei, Hussein Hassan Oneisi and Asad Hassan Sabra. And it decided that there is no evidence that the Hezbollah leadership played a role in Hariri’s assassination, nor was there direct evidence of Syria’s involvement in the crime.
Ayyash, according to the court, is responsible for the cell that carried out the murder and participated in it personally through a bombing that targeted the Hariri motorcade in the capital Beirut, killing Hariri and 21 other people on the February 14, 2005.
