29 April 2009: Special Tribunal Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen orders the release of Jamil Mohamad Amin El Sayed, Ali Salah El Dine El Hajj, Raymond Fouad Azar and Mostafa Fehmi Hamdan.
· Read the media advisory.
· Read the OTP press release.
*** Mr El Sayed's Application
17 March 2010: Mr El Sayed, represented by his counsel Akram Azoury, submitted an application before the President of the STL that was filed confidentially with the Registry of the Tribunal, requesting "evidentiary material related to the crimes of libelous denunciations and arbitrary detention".
15 April 2010: The President of the Special Tribunal, Judge Antonio Cassese,issued an order assigning the matter to the Pre-Trial Judge. Pursuant to the President's Order, "the Applicant was granted standing to submit filings in this matter and according to the relevant rules and procedures".
21 April 2010: the Pre-Trial Judge issued a "Scheduling Order For Determination Of The Application Of Mr. El Sayed", in which the procedure to rule on Mr. El Sayed Application was spelled out. The Order set the dates for submissions of arguments and responses by Mr. El Sayed and the Office of the Prosecutor and laid out the possibility that the Pre-Trial Judge order a public hearing.
25 June 2010: The Pre-Trial Judge issued a scheduling order for a public hearing on the request of Mr El Sayed for access to certain documents allegedly in the possession of the Tribunal.
13 July 2010: A public hearing was held at the request of Mr. El Sayed to determine if the Tribunal has jurisdiction over this matter. During the hearing, the Applicant and the Prosecutor put forward their arguments and the Head of the Defence Office also provided his views.
View pictures of the hearing.
17 September 2010: The Pre-Trial Judge issued an Order, in which he found that the Tribunal had jurisdiction over this matter, and that Mr El Sayed had standing before the Tribunal. The Pre-Trial Judge ruled that the right of access to a criminal file is not absolute and can be subject to limitations. On 29 September the Prosecutor lodged an appeal against the Pre-Trial Judge's Order.
· Read the media advisory regarding the Pre-Trial Judge's Order.
1 October 2010 : The President of the Tribunal issued a scheduling order requesting the UN to submit an amicus curiae brief. Mr. El Sayed appealed the scheduling order and requested the disqualification of Judges Ralph Riachy and Afif Chamseddine from considering both appeals. On 10 November 2010, President Cassese issued two decisions (CH/PRES/2010/09, CH/PRES/2010/08) in which he rejected Mr El Sayed's motions to disqualify both judges. President Cassese determined that Judges Ralph Riachy and Afif Chamseddine have no personal interest in, or association with, Mr El Sayed's application that could affect or appear to affect their impartiality.
· Read the media advisory.
10 November 2010: The Appeals Chamber dismissed the Prosecution's appeal, confirmed the Pre-Trial Judge's order on jurisdiction and standing and referred the case again to the Pre-Trial Judge.
· Read the media advisory regarding the Appeals Chamber's decision.
7 January 2011: The Pre-Trial Judge issued a Scheduling Order to hold a public hearing in the case of Mr El Sayed. The Scheduling Order included a list of clarification questions to be addressed by both him and the Prosecutor during the hearing. Judge Fransen ordered this hearing in the interests of justice, taking into account the special circumstances of Mr. El Sayed's case and the importance of the issues it raised.
14 January 2011: A public hearing was held to allow Mr El Sayed and the Prosecutor to respond orally to the questions raised in the Order of 7 January 2011, and finalize their submissions to the Pre-Trial Judge.
Mr. El Sayed and the Prosecutor further addressed the specific issue of a possible ex parte hearing before the Pre-Trial Judge, during which the Prosecutor could confidentially identify those documents in his possession, that could be disclosed to Mr El Sayed or his Counsel, and give concrete reasons why other documents would not be disclosable.
· Read the media advisory.
19 April 2011: The Pre-Trial Judge held a confidential and ex parte hearing relating to the request by MrEl Sayed to obtain access to documents allegedly in the possession of the Prosecutor that relate to his file. The purpose of the hearing was for the Pre-Trial Judge to examine the documents in the possession of the Prosecutor potentially relevant to Mr El Sayed and determine which of them the Prosecutor should disclose to Mr El Sayed, and in what form such disclosure is to take place..
· Read the media advisory
Source: STL Release
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