Exclusive to NOW Lebanon: STL Defense Office Head François Roux.

The STL has its own agenda, and will continue its work.

François Roux is not somebody who likes to be the center of attention. With the exception of some press conferences, this is the first major interview about the Special Tribunal for Lebanon given by the Head of the Defense Office (OTD). Asked why the public sees so little of him in the media, Roux answers in his own modest way: "It is not me to be in the spotlight, and to speak. For what reason? I only like to talk when it is necessary."
Are you really not afraid the relation between Lebanon and the STL might change in the near future? There has been a fierce debate on the STL in the past few years. The government of Saad Hariri collapsed over it. What if the new government does not recognize the STL?
François Roux: Let's first wait and see what the new government is going to say. A new government is bound by agreements that were signed by a previous government. I mean, look at a country like Belgium; in the past nine months they did not even have a government, and Belgium is still more or less functioning. I do not have the habit of dealing with problems before they arise.
All right, but a new wind is blowing through Lebanon. What will you do if there is a complete reversal of policy toward the STL under the new government?
Roux: I follow the position of the secretary general in this matter: The tribunal will continue to do its work. It does not change anything. A government might fall, but the state continues. That also goes for the Memorandum of Understanding we signed with them last year. It will continue to be valid.
Let's talk about the indictment. Of course as the head of the OTD you know what is inside?
Roux: No. Absolutely not. Nobody knows. Only the prosecutor and the pre-trial judge know what is inside. Please do not fail to make that distinction. It is also not our job to know or to prepare ourselves with its content. The OTD is not involved in the cases, only in the law; we are not involved in the facts. Imagine that in the future we will be in a situation with many different defense teams on board.  If we were to be involved in the facts, what about the conflicts of interest? We are here to support legally the defense teams, so at this stage we know nothing about the indictment.
Is it fair that the indictment is kept secret? After all these years of waiting it is finally drafted. And now we are not allowed to read it.
Roux: I actually support that. I will explain why. In this particular indictment I can imagine that there will be names of people that are suspected of involvement in the Hariri crime. What if at the end of the day the pre-trial judge says, "With this individual I do not agree. I do not want this name to become public." Keeping the content secret is in the interest of the suspects, because of the simple fact that everybody is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. At this stage it is the best solution.
Consider the emotion in Lebanon on the ground. People need to know what is inside, don't you think?
Roux: I do understand your question. Let me tell you that people in this tribunal work as fast as possible to advance this case. This goes for the prosecutor and for the pre-trial judge. We will get his decision as soon as possible.
What about all the leaks in the Lebanese media? Will this harm the future work of the OTD?
Roux: No comment. That is a question for the prosecutor, not for the OTD. My only comment is that at this moment we are in a period where everything related to the investigation is kept confidential. That is the law.
What about all the debates in Lebanon, for example about the false witnesses issue? It almost looks like a soap opera.
Roux: I can imagine that a future defense team would sue these particular people. For me this file is not closed. Not at all. I saw the debate in the press, but remember that these people gave a statement to the investigation team, which they signed themselves. You can always summon them to appear in court and let them explain what happened to the judge. Future defense teams should decide how to deal with that.
Considering all the attacks on the STL, do you regret you took the job?
Roux: Regrets? No regrets at all. Why? It is a very important and interesting challenge. This is the first time in international justice that a Defense Office in a tribunal is an independent organ. That is a very important progression, and a big step for international justice. We actually build our own strong organization. We worked very efficiently from the beginning of the mandate.
Is that not common practice?
Roux: In all of the international tribunals there is a special section reserved for the defense of suspects, under the authority of the Registrar. Initially they were there only to provide legal aid. Later this task was expanded in other tribunals by giving defense teams legal support. This was, for example, the case in the Special court for Sierra Leone Court and the Cambodia tribunal.
In the STL we got one step beyond that. The Defense Office is an organ on an equal footing with the OTP, the Registry or even the Presidency. We deal of course with legal aid, we support the individual defense teams, and on top of that we are also in charge of managing our own affairs in the tribunal.
Could you give me an illustration of that?
Roux: When somebody is accused by the tribunal, this person will be defended by a team of lawyers. The OTD will be there to give these teams all kinds of support. This could be legal support or providing legal aid to those who cannot pay for it themselves. We are also there to help teams with logistics, for example when they have to go to Lebanon. All this together will be the responsibility of the OTD.
When a defense team arrives here, they have absolutely no experience with this tribunal. They will be faced with an Office of the Prosecutor that knows all the ropes. The prosecution knows all about case law, the practice, the procedures, etc.  Our role here is to train them, to update them in all ways possible, so they can be on an equal footing, and so they can really defend the accused and make sure it will be a fair trial.
So if somebody shows up with a weak team, you will advise that person to change the team?
Roux: Usually it is the other way around: the accused complains about his defense team. Or we realize a defense team is not performing properly. In those cases we could advise – in extreme cases – for a change of team. That is indeed part of our new role.
In the past two years we have been preparing everything for the moment the first team will arrive. For example we have put together a list of lawyers that could be assigned under the legal aid scheme. We have interviewed over a hundred lawyers to appraise their skills, performance, etc. Once they made it on our list we provided them with a four-day intensive training in which we explained what this tribunal is all about, and what are the novelties. Think of matters regarding terrorism, the possibility for trials in absentia and the special role of the pre-trial judge.
What if you were to end up in a situation with nobody in custody here in Holland? What will be your role, then, as an OTD?
Roux: Our role in the case of absentia trials is all the more important. Because this is a novelty in international law. This is the first time that we can have such a trial. Our role would be to support defense teams in that scenario by putting all our skills at their disposal, so that a trial like that can be a success.
What if, for example, individuals in Hezbollah are indicted and the Lebanese government simply refuses to arrest people from that organization?
Roux: All right, let me explain how this is going to work. Of course no one knows at this stage who the accused are going to be. Once a pre-trial judge summons somebody to court or when he issues an arrest warrant, and the person is not arrested for whatever reason, this person is nevertheless accused. The Trial Chamber can decide to start a trial in absentia.
Our role will be to appoint a defense team. This team will be provided with all the legal documents from the prosecution. And their role will be to challenge those documents and the arguments of the prosecution, but without receiving instructions from the accused, because he is not there. The fact that he is not there does not mean he does not have the right to be defended. It might be difficult, but it is possible.
With all due respect, if nobody ever gets arrested, wouldn't you feel it was all for nothing?
Roux: Justice can work and prevail, even if that means there will be no arrests. The accused can be at least defended by the best possible defense team. Obviously this is not an ideal situation, but it is always better than nothing.
Let me ask you about a time frame for the coming months. Pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen is probably going to say something about the indictment before the end of this month. And then what?
Roux: Possible. After his ruling, the relevant authorities will have 30 days to react. They can either choose to arrest or not. If they refuse, the pre-trial judge can decide to start a trial in absentia. After that they will come back to me and say, "Mr. Roux, we are opening a trial in absentia, please design a defense team."
Do you realize this whole procedure could lead to even more civil unrest than we already have in Lebanon? It looks nice on paper, but in Lebanon some people have guns. Much different from Belgium.
Roux: Maybe it will become difficult, but I do not know what will happen. Nobody knows really.
The STL is accused by a large part of the Lebanese population of having a hidden agenda – that it is being used as a tool first to get the Syrians out, and now to get rid of the Resistance. How do you see that?
Roux: That is not what I understood actually. There was a recent poll that showed that about 60 percent of the Lebanese population supports the tribunal and its work. I know that was just a poll, but still it was very interesting to see that you have the media, the politicians who talk a lot and a poll in which 60 percent of the population says we want to know the truth what happened to Hariri.
Unfortunately, the people of Lebanon are not in charge of their own country. A large part of the political establishment is saying: This is a biased court, created in an illegitimate way. To them this is also not up for debate. If we look at the way the STL was established, is that legitimate according to you?
Roux: I can imagine that a defense team will raise this issue in the future. That is possible.
But is it fair to say it was not created in the right way, or not?
Roux: We will see. We will deal with it, once this issue is raised.
Don't you have an opinion about that yourself?
Roux: Of course I have my own opinion, but I keep my opinion to myself.
Do you expect the same kind of problems as the prosecutor? They have been under fire ever since they were established.
Roux: That is why in the past two years we have explained the role of the OTD to a large number of people. I visited Lebanon five or six times. We established, for example, excellent contacts with the Tripoli and Beirut Bar Associations. We have the support of both organizations.
We met politicians and also other individuals. We explained to them that this is a legal institution, not a political one. And that's what it is indeed: an independent institution, next to the Prosecutor's Office, and next to the judges – all independent organs that work separately from each other. The mere fact that there is an OTD means that the accused will be defended properly. This all highlights the fact that it is a judicial process, not a political one.
What do you say to the 40 percent of the Lebanese population that see this institution as a joke?
Roux: I would like to recall for them my motto: Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness. This means basically: It is better to do something than nothing.
Source: NowLebanon

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION CONCLUSIONS ON LEBANON

3065th FOREIGN AFFAIRS Council meeting
Brussels, 31 January 2011
The Council adopted the following conclusions:
"1. The Council continues to closely follow developments in Lebanon.
2. It takes note of the designation of Mr Mikati as Prime Minister by President Sleiman. It calls upon the Lebanese authorities to seek the broadest possible consensus and to preserve unity, in full respect with the principles enshrined in the Lebanese Constitution, the Taif accord and with all Lebanon's international obligations.
3. The Council stresses the importance it attaches to the independent and democratic functioning of Lebanese institutions, free from any interference including from the outside. The Council calls on all parties to cooperate in a spirit of dialogue and consensus and to refrain from violence or intimidation.
4. The Council expresses its appreciation for the work carried out by the National Unity Government led by PM Hariri after the democratic elections of 2009.
5. The Council reaffirms its continuing commitment towards the Special Tribunal for Lebanon(STL) as an independent court, created by UNSC Resolution 1757 and following the highest judicial standards. The STL must continue its work without impediment and with the cooperation of the Lebanese government. Funding must be preserved. In this regard, the Council notes that the EU and individual Member States stand ready to provide further funding. At the same time the EU encourages others to contribute.
6. The Council remains determined to reinforce Lebanon's sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity and stability. The Council recalls its commitment to the full implementation of all relevant UNSC Resolutions, including 1559, 1680, 1701 and 1757.
7. The Council supports and commends the crucial role of UNIFIL, whose activities alongside the Lebanese Armed Forces continue to be essential for peace in the region.

Lebanon: Ban calls on new government to cooperate with Hariri murder court.

28 January 2011 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today that the newly designated Lebanese Government should continue to cooperate with the United Nations-backed tribunal set up to try suspects in the 2005 murders of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others.
"I have been repeatedly stating the position of the Untied Nations: this is an independent international justice system, justice process," he told a news conference in Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum, adding that "nobody, no country, should interfere or obstruct the smooth proceedings of this justice process."
Lebanon's previous government, led by Mr. Hariri's son, Saad, collapsed two weeks ago after 11 Hizbollah and allied ministers resigned, reportedly over the Government's refusal to cease cooperation with the tribunal, which the media says was about to indict Hizbollah members for the murders.
Earlier this week, Lebanese President Michel Sleiman asked Najib Mikati, who has Hizbollah support according to media reports, to form the new Government.
"I have been very much concerned about this politicizing of this Special Tribunal," Mr. Ban said. "I hope that the Lebanese people and government will be able to restore the political stability and engage in their social, economic, political development while the accountability process should also progress."
After meeting with Mr. Mikati in Beirut today, UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams said he is "sure that the new government, when it is formed, will maintain good relations with the United Nations and will fully abide by its international obligations."
The tribunal was set up following a probe by the International Independent Investigation Commission after an earlier UN mission found that Lebanon's own inquiry into the massive car bombing that killed Mr. Hariri and the others was seriously flawed, and that Syria was primarily responsible for the political tensions that preceded the attack. Last week the court received its first indictment, but the contents remain confidential at this stage.
Mr. Williams said Mr. Mikati underlined his strong support for Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended a month-long war between Israel and the Hizbollah militia in 2006. It also calls for respect for the Blue Line separating Israel and Lebanon, the disarming of all militias in Lebanon, and an end to arms smuggling in the area.
 

STL Prosecutor appoints a Spokesperson

NNA - 25/1/2011 The Prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced in a statement on Tuesday the appointment of Ms. Sophie Boutaud de la Combe as his Spokesperson and Senior Public Information Officer.

He pointed out "Her arrival coincides with the beginning of a new phase in my Office's work following the filing of the indictment. I am confident that Ms. Sophie Boutaud de la Combe's in-depth communication and public information experience will be a strong asset to my Office and will complement my senior team", said Prosecutor Bellemare."

Ms. Boutaud de la Combe, a French national, has extensive experience in the world of public information. Before joining the Tribunal, she held the position of Deputy Chief of Communication in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). She also served as Spokesperson for the Mission since April 2006, and previously as Advocacy and Outreach Officer for two years. In addition, Ms. Boutaud de la Combe has held various posts as a communications specialist in the public and private sectors.

Ms. Boutaud de la Combe holds a Masters degree in public law and a post graduate degree in environmental and urban law.

Ms. Boutaud de la Combe is the co-author of two books, "Lettres de loin en loin", published in 2008, and "Haiti parmi les vivants", published in 2010. In addition, she is a former member of JCI Martinique (Junior Chamber International), and the co-founder of JCI Haiti, a worldwide non-political and non-sectarian youth service organization, which aims to provide development opportunities that empower young people to create positive change in the world.

STL Registrar to Naharnet: Street Activity, Leaks Do Not Affect Tribunal Work … Lebanon Bound to Cooperate

By Naharnet
Jan 19, 2011 - 11:59:01 AM

In an exclusive interview with Naharnet, Special Tribunal for Lebanon Registrar Herman von Hebel on Wednesday confirmed that the indictment was submitted to pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen "in less than an hour" and said Lebanon was bound to cooperate with the tribunal. Hebel also stressed that street activity and leaks of documents do not affect the work of the court.

The following is the full text of the interview:

Q- The STL said the indictment was filed with the Tribunal Registrar, who WILL submit it to Fransen. Where is the indictment now? Did Fransen take delivery of the indictment or not?

A- When we received the indictment from the prosecutor on Monday we were able to deliver within less than an hour to the pre-trial judge it is really for the judge to study the indictment and all the supporting material.

Q- On what grounds did you ascertain that Fransen's review of evidence submitted with the indictment would take between 6 to 10 weeks (given that the law leaves the door open)?

A- Our rules do not give a specific timeframe within which he has to do it. The timeframe of at least 6 to ten weeks is based on experience and comparison of experience in other tribunals and it also takes into account the specifics of our tribunal and also there is a little bit of flexibility in the timeframe because we don't know whether the pre-trial judge (Fransen) may take use of the opportunity of asking a number of legal questions with the appeals chamber before he is going to confirm or not confirm the indictment.

Fransen will take a decision on whether he will have a legal question in, let's say, within a week from now, and then of course the Appeals Chamber will have to prepare a decision on that. In the meantime, he will continue to look into the factual basis of the case because the appeals chamber will purely look into the legal questions. But all in all we are confident that roughly within at least six to 10 weeks we will be able to prepare a decision. Again there is flexibility depending on whether Fransen has other questions. That's where the timeframe comes from.

Q- You have said that the evidence is contained in "thousands of pages" of documents and DVDs submitted with the indictment. The indictment in itself - without the documents and DVDs - is it concise or detailed?

A- The indictment has to provide a concise statement of the facts and of the role of the accused person or persons mentioned in the indictment. Whether that is the case of course it is for the judge to determine and in order for him to do a determination he needs to have access to the supporting material. On the basis of the supporting material, he can then determine whether the indictment has sufficient basis in order to really start trial against those person or persons mentioned in the indictment.

Q- On what grounds did you ascertain that the trial will begin in September?

A- In the best case scenario, let's say that the pre-trial judge would be able within six to 10 weeks to make a decision, then after that, there would be time necessary in order to see whether the accused person or persons will be arrested or whether there is a need to take a decision to go on with the trial in the absence of one or more accused person And when that is the case, there would always be a defense council serving the interest of an accused person and that council, of course, will also need time to prepare for that case, to read through all the material and, hence, on the basis of all those steps that need to be taken and if everything runs well and runs very smooth, then we may see a trial getting started in September or October. But that, of course, is an optimistic scenario.

Q- Is it true that Fransen reviewed those documents several months ago?

A- What had been happening in the past, is that the prosecutor was able through one of our procedure rules to discuss the case with the pre-trial judge that is purely on the basis of informal discussions between the prosecutor and the judge but the formal decision that the judge now has to take has to be done only on the basis of what has been given to him this Monday. What have been the kind of discussion between the prosecutor and the judge before, I don't know.

Q- In light of the street gatherings which may signal preparations to mobilize in relation to the submittal of the indictment, would this affect the work of the tribunal?

A- This is a very difficult question to answer. For us what is important is that we are able to work. It is, of course, necessary for the judge to study the material and as you know he is based here in The Hague. He has the material on his desk and he is studying that material and that will not be influenced by the situation in Lebanon. In general terms, the tribunal is an independent, an impartial organ and will have to function independently from the situation on the ground in Lebanon.

Q- If the Lebanese government should decide to stop cooperation with the STL, how would the tribunal react?

A- Of course it is always dangerous to answer in too much detail. Lebanon entered into an agreement with the U.N. It asked the assistance of the U.N. to establish this tribunal. In the end, also there was, of course, a binding resolution for Lebanon by the Security Council of the U.N. and hence, there is an obligation for Lebanon to continue to cooperate and provide financial resources to the tribunal. That obligation is independent of any government that may be in power at a particular time. There is a legal obligation that continues to apply. We are confident that that will continue to be the case and on basis of that obligation we will continue also our activities and preparations for the trial later this year.

Q- If Lebanon annulled the agreement with the STL, how would the tribunal deal with this?

A- I'm not sure whether there is a possibility to do so because by the end of the day that is a Security Council resolution that is binding on Lebanon and Lebanon is not in a position like anyone or any state under binding Security Council resolutions to unilaterally withdraw from those obligations. This is simply part of all the states that are partner and members of the U.N. and the same applies to Lebanon and having worked in other tribunals I have seen similar discussions, for example the Yugoslav tribunal. We always see that the obligation to cooperate in the end is a very strong one and it continues to guide the work and the activities of states and the activities of the tribunal. So we are very confident that we can continue our work based on that Security Council resolution.

Q- Another major problem is: The unauthorized broadcasts on some Lebanese TV channels. Does the STL acknowledge it has a problem in maintaining confidentiality of documents?

A- You've seen a statement from the Prosecutor yesterday about it. We are able to continue our operations that are dependent of the broadcast of the serials. What is important to the pre-trial judge is to work on the basis of the material that has been submitted to him on Monday and that is not being affected by whether such material is being broadcast. I wouldn't even know whether the material that had been broadcast is even part of the material that the pre-trial judge has and whether or not that is the case. He will simply look into all the material that he has in order to make his own legal determination whether there is a case that can be the base of a trial. I would like to refer to the statements by the prosecutor himself yesterday in which he indicated that he is going to investigate, and based on his investigation, I will consult with the prosecutor on how to deal with that. But for the entire function of the tribunal, we are not affected by these video showings. Our work will simply go on irrespective of that.

Indictments Expected Soon in Hariri Murder

Court Official Says Names to Be Made Public in Weeks
01/24/2011
The United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon is moving closer to indicting Hezbollah leaders in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. A court official says names will be made public in a matter of weeks and that a trial could follow as soon as September. The United Nations Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) would like to do everything in its power to exercise the arrest warrants of the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, who was killed in a February 2005 bombing attack in Beirut.
STL registrar Herman von Hebel told SPIEGEL the arrest warrants would be activated "in cooperation with the government of Beirut, which is obligated to extradite -- if necessary with the help of other states." As "registrar," the Dutchman holds a key position in the court, which was created at the request of Lebanon and is meant to have an "international character," as it states on its own website. It is the first of its kind to attempt to clear up a terrorist attack.
In light of the tense political situation in Lebanon at the moment, particular importance is being attached to von Hebel's words. It is likely that the tribunal will move to charge leading members of the radical Islamist Hezbollah in connection with the assassination. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, 50, has already announced that he will not allow any of his people to be extradited, stating that the tribunal is an "American-Israeli tool." The week before last, Nasrallah initiated the resignations of his party's ministers as well as a few allies in the cabinet, causing the collapse of the national unity government of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, 40.
Hariri Determined to Work with Tribubal
But Hariri, Rafik's son, is determined to continue working together with the STL. He will remain in office as interim prime minister and wants to fight to keep his post. For his part, Nasrallah appears to favor former Prime Minister Omar Karami, 76, a friend to Syria. At this time, however, no clear possibility is forming for a new government coalition and the deadlock could last for months to come.
It's possible the tribunal will act sooner. Last Tuesday, one day after the chief prosecutor in the Hague sealed the arrest warrants and turned them over to the coordinating judge, Hezbollah provoked Prime Minister Hariri with an odd display of force: The group dispatched its militias to protest at strategic locations around Beirut. Hariri supporters within his party called it a test run for a possible national strike.
STL registrar von Hebel says it is likely the names contained on the arrest warrants will be made public in "six to 10 weeks" and that a trial could start as soon as the beginning of September. "If necessary, a trial without the presence of the defendants would be conceivable, the statutes allow us to judge in absentia," he said.
dsl/SPIEGEL

Eliot-Marie: Paris objects to rendering the Special Tribunal for Lebanon a hostage to politics

NNA - 22/1/2011 - French Foreign Minister, Michele Elliot-Marie, expressed today her hope that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would be allowed to boost consensus between all the Lebanese and guarantee their national unity. Her words came following her meeting with her Egyptian Counterpart, Ahmad Abou El-Gheit, in Cairo, today.

On the other hand, Minister Eliot-Marie expressed in an interview to the "Arab Today" Jordanian Newspaper, France's objection to rendering the Special Tribunal for Lebanon as a hostage to the political ambience. She stressed, herein, that the Tribunal is an international, independent judiciary, the work of which cannot be hindered by anyone. She also indicated that it is impossible to favor between justice and stability.

The French Minister went on to state that France's message is constant, in that it supports the Lebanese authorities that are exerting all efforts today for the sake of preserving stability in the Country and forming a new government. She also referred to France's belief in the possibility of finding a way to avoiding the crisis.