Details to be revealed on Hariri murder

17/08/2011| IslamWeb

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is set to lift confidentiality restrictions on evidence in the investigation into the killing of Rafiq al-Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister blown up by a car bomb in 2005.

A source told Al Jazeera on Wednesday that a judicial order has been made lifting the confidentiality restrictions on the indictment, as well as the judge's decision confirming the indictment. The indictment and the arrest warrants will also be published.

In June, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) issued arrest warrants for four members of Hezbollah for alleged involvement in the February 14, 2005 bombing in Beirut that killed Hariri and 22 others.

The STL, which was established by the United Nations in 2007 to investigate the killing, has had a polarizing effect on Lebanese domestic politics, dividing the country into two distinct camps; those who believe the STL is pushing forward a political agenda to bring down Hezbollah, and those who believe that the court is the only institution that will be able to objectively rule on the killing.

Hezbollah and its cabinet allies have dominated Lebanon's coalition government since members of a coalition led by Saad Hariri, Rafiq al-Hariri's son, quit amid controversy over the handling of the STL.

Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the assassination, saying that the investigation leading up to the indictments had been politically motivated and ignored the possibility of investigating other suspects.

Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has repeatedly dismissed the tribunal as a US-Israeli conspiracy against his movement.

Since the publication of the indictments, which name Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra, Hezbollah has said it will not turn over the suspects.

PHOTO CAPTION

A billboard in Beirut bears the image of slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri with the Arabic words, "The truth for the sake of Lebanon".

Al-Jazeera