“Don’t be a victim twice” / Victims’ participation in STL proceedings

Leidschendam, 12 July 2011 - The Victims' Participation Unit of the STL has today opened applications for victims to participate in the proceedings before the Tribunal. This follows the confirmation of an indictment by the Pre-Trial Judge on 28 June 2011.

Through this process the voices of victims will be heard. They will be able to fully participate in the trial before the Tribunal, which will seek the truth behind the attack on 14 February 2005 and also serve justice.

Individuals who have suffered physical, mental or material harm can apply to participate in the proceedings as victims by completing the application form on the STL website. Since the confirmed indictment relates to the attack on 14 February 2005 that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others, only those who were affected by that attack may participate at this stage.

The victims' application process is entirely confidential. Once the Pre-Trial Judge approves the application, the victim is entitled to a number of rights similar to those of the Prosecution and the Defense; such as calling and cross-examining witnesses, submitting evidence, and filing motions, with the approval of the judges.

Unless the judges rule differently, victims shall only participate in the proceedings through a lawyer. The Tribunal could, under certain conditions, cover all of the victims' legal costs if they are unable to afford them.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon cannot award compensation to victims for the harm they suffered. However, if one or more accused persons are convicted, the Tribunal shall provide victims with a certified copy of the judgment, which they may present before national courts in order to seek compensation.

The Victims' Participation Unit is responsible for assisting the victims participating in the proceedings related to the attack on 14 February 2005 and any other attack (s) over which the Tribunal will have jurisdiction. A Lebanese telephone hotline has been set up to answer victims' questions.
Source: STL Press Release

STL Media Advisory - International arrest warrants

Leidschendam, 11 July 2011 -The Pre-Trial Judge, Daniel Fransen, issued on Friday 8 July international arrest warrants against the accused in the 14 February 2005 attack in which the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri and many others were killed. The Tribunal has requested Interpol to notify all States of the arrest warrants. This follows a request from STL Prosecutor Daniel A. Bellemare.

Judge Fransen's decision authorised the Office of the Prosecutor to provide Interpol with the necessary information to issue a "red notice" against each accused.

The issuing of international warrants comes after the confirmation of an indictment and its transmission along with domestic arrest warrants to the Lebanese authorities on 30 June 2011. The confirmation of that indictment means that the Pre-Trial Judge has ruled that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial. The indictment remains confidential, and at this stage the STL has no comment to make about the identity of those accused.

Interpol forwards warrants for Hariri murder suspects

(AFP) BEIRUT — The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is investigating the 2005 murder of ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, said on Sunday that Interpol had circulated arrest warrants for the four suspects in the bombing.

"I can confirm that the tribunal has requested Interpol to notify all states of the arrest warrants against the accused in the 15th February 2005 attack," the court's Beirut spokesman, Martin Youssef, told AFP.
He said that the international police organisation had issued a so-called "red notice" to member states late on Friday but gave no information on the presumed whereabouts or the identity of the four suspects.
"The international arrest warrants will not be published and will not be available to the public because they are still confidential," he added.
A senior officer in Lebanon's security services told AFP that Lebanon and the other 187 Interpol member states had received the "red notice" on Saturday asking them to arrest the suspects and hand them over to the UN-backed court for trial.
The official said the warrants were for four senior Hezbollah officers who are accused of carrying out a "terrorist act" and of "killing Rafiq Hariri and 21 others using explosives."
The Special Tribunal submitted a confidential indictment and arrest warrants for the four accused on June 30. The names of the four were not released but were leaked to the Beirut media and later confirmed by the Lebanese government.
Mustafa Badreddin, Salim Ayyash, Assad Sabra and Hussein Anaissi are all members of Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel and now leads the majority bloc in the Lebanese parliament.
In a July 2 speech, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah ruled out the arrest of four.
"No Lebanese government will be able to carry out any arrests whether in 30 days... 30 years or even 300 years," he said.

French Foreign Ministry: Lebanese government's stance regarding STL is perturbing

NNA - 8/7/2011 - The French Foreign Ministry expressed on Friday its worry over the new Lebanese government's stance regarding the cooperation with the special tribunal for Lebanon assigned of referring to trial the assassins of the late Rafic Hariri.
France believes the new government tends to cast doubt over the tribunal's neutralism and professionalism

UNTSO: Equipment transportation normal UN-adopted procedure

 NNA - 7/7/2011 United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) office head in Beirut, Colonel Richard Hauser, issued on Thursday a statement in which it said that the transportation of 97 computers by the United Nations International Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) from Naqoura to Israel is a normal procedure adopted by the U.N.

Hauser also said that each computer's hard disk was removed, destroyed, and replaced with new one, affirming that the computers are still in their possession and that "such procedures are adopted when equipments are transferred from one U.N. mission to another."

"The operation was conducted with complete transparency and in conformity with followed procedures," he concluded.

It is noteworthy that Hauser's statement came in response to Hezbollah Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah's disclosure of a UNTSO document stating that the computers belong to the UNIIIC and they were in fact moved to Israel.

According to Nasrallah, the document provided proof that 97 computers were transported by investigators through Naqoura to Israel and not through the airport or Beirut port, at a time when STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare was still the head of the committee probing Hariri's murder.

Confirmation of Indictment Shows that the Prosecutor’s Investigation Relies on Credible Evidence

Leidschendam, 4 July 2011 – In response to allegations made by Mr. Hassan Nasrallah in his speech of 2 July 2011, the Prosecutor stated that "the staff of the OTP have been recruited on the basis of their professionalism, impartiality and expertise, and I have full confidence in their strong commitment to finding the truth".

The Prosecutor welcomes Mr. Nasrallah's offer to provide the file that he stated he has on some elements of the investigation and requests the video material that was shown on television during his televised statement, as well as any other information and documents that would assist the Tribunal in its ongoing pursuit of justice.

The investigation is carried out according to the highest standards of international justice and its results are based solely on facts and credible evidence. The Prosecutor stated that "the staff of the OTP act independently and in good faith in their search for the truth".

In seeking the release of the four generals in April 2009, the Prosecutor has already demonstrated that when he is not satisfied with the credibility or reliability of the evidence he will not hesitate to reject it.

In confirming the indictment on 28 June 2011, the Pre-Trial Judge ruled that he was satisfied that there was sufficient evidence to send the accused to trial for the attack of 14 February 2005.

The Prosecutor will not engage in a public debate in the media about the credibility of his investigation or of the investigative process. This is a judicial process and should be treated as such. In this context, the proper forum to challenge the investigation or the evidence gathered as a result, is in open court during a trial that will fully comply with international standards.

As has often been stated, justice is the guarantee of sustainable stability. The Prosecutor calls for all steps to be taken to bring the accused to justice.

INTERPOL urges UN-backed court to authorize entering names of individuals wanted for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri into police databases.

LYON, France - INTERPOL has been cooperating closely with the Special Tribunal of Lebanon (STL), since its formation, to assist in identifying and bringing to justice those responsible for the assassination on 14 February 2005 of Rafiq Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon.
As part of that cooperation, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has the authority to seek international wanted persons notices (Red Notices) via INTERPOL to apprehend and to prevent the unlawful flight of those wanted for arrest by the STL.
The Special Tribunal of Lebanon also has the authority to request INTERPOL to keep the names of those wanted for arrest confidential, under seal, and made available only to police in INTERPOL's 188 member countries.
Until now, INTERPOL has received no request from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to issue INTERPOL Red Notices or to enter into INTERPOL's databases any information about the individuals wanted for arrest for the assassination of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri.
In response to any media inquiries on why INTERPOL Red Notices have not been requested and why the identifying data of those wanted for arrest by the STL have not been entered into our databases, INTERPOL will only make the following statement:
"INTERPOL can offer no explanation for why the Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon would not authorize the disclosure to INTERPOL's 188 member countries of the names, dates of birth and photographs of those wanted for arrest by the Special Tribunal of Lebanon for the assassination of Rafiq Hariri, the former Prime Minister of Lebanon.
Police cannot arrest, prevent dangerous persons from entering their countries' borders, or prevent their flight from justice of other countries based on information in the media; police require authorization from judicial or other governmental authorities."
INTERPOL's Secretary General, Ronald K. Noble, has stated on many occasions that "the failure to include the names and identifiers of those wanted for arrest in INTERPOL databases increases their ability to cross international borders undetected and to avoid apprehension."
Any media inquiries to INTERPOL concerning those wanted for arrest by the Special Tribunal Lebanon for the assassination of Rafiq Hariri should be directed to the STL itself.
INTERPOL media release