LEIDSCHENDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) – The main suspect in the trial of four men accused of conspiracy to assassinate former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri was a member of Hezbollah and used a mobile phone critical in the attack, judges said. a UN-backed tribunal said on Tuesday.
Judge David Re, presiding judge, Judge Janet Nosworthy and Judge Micheline Braidy attend a session of the UN-backed Lebanon Tribunal, which will rule on the case of four men who are being tried in absentia for the bombing. in 2005 who already assassinated former Prime Minister Rafik -Hariri and 21 other people, in Leidschendam, the Netherlands 18 August 2020. REUTERS / Piroschka Van De Wouw / Pool
After an hour-long reading of the conviction was underway, judges said they were “satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt” that evidence showed that Salim Jamil Ayyash “had one of six mobiles used by the murder team worth. ”
The judges had yet to rule on Ayyash’s guilt or innocence on prosecutors, including committing a terrorist attack and murder.
“The evidence also contained that Mr. Ayyash had affiliation with Hezbollah,” Judge Micheline Braidy said, reading a summary of the 2,600-page statement.
The three other suspects are also suspected members of the Iran-backed Shiite Muslim group.
However, judges said they found no evidence that Hezbollah’s leadership as the Syrian government had played a part in the attack, which left 21 others dead. Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the February 14, 2005 bombing.
The condemnation comes because the Lebanese people are still suffering from the aftermath of an enormous explosion in Beirut that killed 178 people this month and from a devastating economic collapse.
Hariri, a Sunni Muslim billionaire, had close ties with the Arab allies of the United States, Western and Sunni Gulf, and was seen as a threat to Iranian and Syrian influence in Lebanon. He led efforts to rebuild Beirut after the 1975-1990 civil war.
“The trial chamber is of the opinion that Syria and Hezbollah may have had motives to eliminate Mr. Hariri and his political allies, however, there is no evidence that the Hezbollah leadership had any involvement in the assassination of Mr. Hariri and there is no direct evidence of Syrian involvement, “Judge David Re said earlier.
POLARIAN COUNTRY
The assassination of Hariri plunged Lebanon into what was then the worst crisis since the war, setting the stage for years of confrontation between rival political forces.
Even before judges began reading her 2,600-page statement on Hariri’s assassination, the Lebanese an-Nahar ran a headline every day: ‘International Justice Defeats Intimidation’.
The paper published a caricature of Hariri’s face and looked at a mushroom cloud over the devastated city, with the caption: “May you too (get justice)”, referring to an investigation that could discover the cause of the explosion.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that he was not involved in the trial and that if only members of the group were convicted, it would stand by their innocence.
Hezbollah’s Al Manar TV and the pro-Damascus Al Mayadeen channel did not cover the process, causing other broadcasters in Lebanon to broadcast live.
Beirut tour guide Nada Nammour, 54, speaking before reading the verdict began, said the 2005 bombing was a crime that should be punished. “Lebanon must see law and justice.”
The ruling in The Hague could further polarize a divided country and complicate a tumultuous situation following the August 4 explosion at the port of Beirut, where authorities say ammonium nitrate was stored unsafely detonated, fueling public unrest and leading to dismissal of ‘ e government.
Hariri’s assassination removed a powerful Sunni leader and could lead to the further political expansion of Shiite power led by Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon.
JUSTICE 15 YEARS OP
The verdict was initially expected earlier this month, but was delayed after the port explosion.
The investigation and trial in the absence of the four suspected Hezbollah members lasted 15 years and cost roughly $ 1 billion. It can result in a guilty verdict and later sentence of up to life imprisonment, as acquittal.
DNA evidence showed that the explosion that killed Hariri was carried out by a male suicide bomber who was never identified.
Prosecutors used phone footage to argue the men on trial – Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, Assad Hassan Sabra and Hussein Hassan Oneissi – had been closely monitoring Hariri’s movements in the months leading up to the attack to give time and a to present false claim of liability as a deviation.
Court-appointed lawyers said there is no physical evidence that the four are connected to the crime and they should be released.
Hariri’s son Saad, who took his father’s cloak and served three times as prime minister, has said he did not seek revenge but that justice should be done.
Some Lebanese say they are now more concerned with finding the truth behind the Beirut port explosion.
“I want to know what the judgment is … but what matters now is who did this (port-blast) to us, because it affects more people,” said Francois, a volunteer who helps victims in a devastated neighborhood.
Report by Toby Sterling and Anthony Deutsch; Additional report by bureau Beirut; Edited by William Maclean, Samia Nakhoul and Nick Tattersall
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