Ya Libnan

As Safir: STL indictments based on circumstantial evidence

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As-Safir newspaper said on Friday that Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has reportedly said that charges facing suspects in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri are based on circumstantial evidence and not conclusive evidence.

As-Safir newspaper claims that Bellemare made the revelations before diplomats at the United Nations.

It quoted sources as saying that Bellemare uncovered that the indictment charges would extend to up to 20 party members.

As-Safir said that STL Prosecutor explained ( to a Lebanese politician who met him ) that circumstantial evidence was not based on direct witnesses but on “expert” witnesses.

As Safir, a pro-Syrian newspaper reported last month that STL will indict Hezbollah members starting September in the assassination of former PM Hariri. The report caused turmoil among Lebanese leaders and Hezbollah MPs who, in turn, accused the STL of being an Israeli project aiming to cause internal strife.

Most of the leaks about STL are coming from the pro-Hezbollah/ Syrian media.

According Ash Sharq al Awsat legal advisers the scenarios and conclusions that some people in the media are propagating lack credibility , since they are not based on proper documentation , since whoever knows (STL prosecutor Daniel ) Bellemare and his ability in maintaining complete silence , strict confidentiality and his way of dealing with the public knows very well that these leaks did not come from anyone at STL, hence these leaks lack objectivity .

The legal advisers added that what is being promoted by the media is shocking because some are now trying to undermine the indictments even before they are issued with the aim of ending the role of STL and preventing the prosecution of the perpetrators of the assassinations in Lebanon .

The special tribunal for Lebanon (STL) which is an independent court was formed by the United Nations security council to try the killers of the former Lebanese PM and related crimes.

No one really knows what the contents of the STL indictments will be like , but the leader of the Iranian backed Hezbollah , Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah admitted in his speech on Thursday July 22 that some of his party members would be named in the tribunal’s formal charges but stressed that he will reject the indictments.

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9 responses to “As Safir: STL indictments based on circumstantial evidence”

  1. Tony A Avatar
    Tony A

    if hizbollah’s guilty indict them. if fpm is guilty indict them. indict whoever you want but lets move on past this absolute waste of time and money.

    what a stupid time in our lives. if theres war, at least it would be nearly over by now. this STL is like a dingleberry thats hanging up there and just wont be shaken off.

    if thers anybody guilty expose them already.

    1. maria Avatar
      maria

      Tony you think anyone is concerned about the stl? trust me, no one will be arrested or tried, its a complete joke. You think the accused are going to get turned over or voluntarily give themselves up? If stl had any common sense, they would close this case up and tell hariri to go F^k himself after him and beik turned on them and sided with the killers. The vacationing hariri deserves the same fate as his dad…..a rich SOB who used money to fly libonais to vote for him and funded a bunch of dumbasses to confront mizzbel’ah and got squashed in 4 hours. You know that libon pays for around 50% of stl bills!

      1. tony a Avatar
        tony a

        maria i dunno if you’re on ya libnan a lot cos i ost daily but, if you have been reading my posts, you will see that i think the STL is a waste of time and money. i’ve been saying that all this money wasted could have gone to better wages, better schools, better hospitals and on and on and on.

        i have also neem saying that why are we lebanese so concerned with the STL. let them fight amongst themselves and let us keep demanding 24/24 electricity and better telephone rates to start.

        the fact that i dont support any party or religion makes it easy for me to be one day with HA and one against as well as one day with Aoun and one against.

        it really all depends on what they do.

        i kow they’re all dirty and they’re self serving which really baffles my mind when many lebanese wanna see HA go and the way i look at it is why?

        one extra mafiosi makes all the family members get together and talk. plus, one extra family member in the area makes it harder for other families to keep getting bigger shares.

        you integrate HA into the army and really or me, that serves lebanon and i could care less who is in the army as long as it is protecting my family and ALL lebanese.

        i’m surprised you didnt find humor in my post being the “dingleberry” comment.

        with a mouth like yours i thuoght you’d pounce on that one.

        i’m glad Tarie’s comment was minimized cos thats just getting rude and who knows tarie, you might actually be arreted at the ariport. frankly, i wouldnt be surprised.

        in the states when someone utters threats against the president or anyone prominent like they should be executed or whatever, these people do actually get picked up by the FBI or local police.

        so freedom of speech is a little bit too abused on this site.

  2. Tarie Al Fanarie Avatar
    Tarie Al Fanarie

    For once i agree with you Tony.

    heck I will be happy if they fly Nassrallah Butt naked for an hr or two over ouzaee and dump him there lol.

  3. r Avatar
    r

    Allah yer7amak Mr Hariri. May you rest in peace, and may the Lebanon you loved find a way to stand united. Go Lebanon. and No to histsrael.

    (I also meant Lebanon without monkey ja3ja3; The monkey belongs in a zoo)

    1. aloush Avatar
      aloush

      lol 🙂

  4. Tarie AL Fanarie Avatar
    Tarie AL Fanarie

    Tony I know you and others is going to say i copied and pasted this from some israeli website but I got it from Lebanese website based on the person’s opinion. So here is the copy of the opinion below. Let me know what you guys think. Sorry its too long but its worthwhile to read. I know you want justice Tony but others are ignoring it which make this article again worth reading..

    Rumors of perjurers and sloppy investigators should be music to Hezbollah’s ears. For if it were that easy to pick holes in any of the expected upcoming indictments handed down to Hezbollah members by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, it should be fairly simple for the party to defend itself before the court, especially if it has evidence that Israel was behind the 2005 murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, as the party claims. Unfortunately however, the Party of God has chosen the route of making threats of civil unrest.

    Despite all its confidence, Hezbollah refuses to stand before a court of law. In the mind of the Hezbollah leadership, it seems, there is no difference between a defendant and one found guilty. In fact, Hezbollah employs the language it knows best: violence. Should there be any mention of Hezbollah in any court document, every Lebanese should denounce the tribunal as “politicized,” or risk facing the party’s wrath.

    Hezbollah’s allies have added their touch in muddying the waters. A so-called Beirut-based think tank, funded and run by pro-Syrian Lebanese operatives, is holding a panel entitled “How can we overcome the consequences of the tribunal.” Speakers include two prominent figures, one from March 14, the other from March 8, but it is clear from the quotes on the invitation that the organization does not support the court.

    “Talk and rumors about an indictment by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon accusing members from Hezbollah of involvement in the [Hariri] assassination… have caused a crisis that forebodes dire consequences to stability and threatens to take the country back to the pre-May 2008 Doha Agreement days,” says one quote on the invitation.

    “The political crisis escalates as each one of the factions holds on to its position, which has led to intensive domestic meetings as well as, thankfully, Arab efforts toward Lebanon,” reads another. “Even though these meetings have led to optimism toward containing the crisis, a final solution remains far,” trumpets a third.

    The invitation concludes with a few questions on whether “Saudi-Syrian sponsorship” can keep a thumb on the crisis, and whether Lebanon can “abandon its commitments to the tribunal as was approved by the Security Council under Chapter VII.”

    But why would the consequences of the tribunal, according to the think tank’s logic, affect the 2008 Doha Agreement, which makes no reference to the tribunal or its workings?

    As long as the Lebanese can remember, the Doha Agreement resolved a longstanding dispute over March 8’s representation in cabinet, and allowed for the election of Michel Sleiman – already a consensus candidate – as president. Doha also settled a disagreement over the electoral law for the 2009 parliamentary elections.

    Instead of confronting the tribunal with their so-called conclusive evidence showing Israel’s involvement, Hezbollah and Syria have tied justice in the Hariri case to the issue of Lebanon’s stability instead; a potentially successful distraction.

    The way Hezbollah and Syria see it, Lebanon’s stability is threatened by two main dangers, namely war with Israel and civil strife. Indeed, a preview of a confrontation with the Jewish State took place on Tuesday.

    Since the Hariri assassination on February 14, 2005, the behavior of Hezbollah and the Syrian regime has cast suspicion over their involvement in the crime. When blamed for committing crimes, the unfairly accused usually endorse justice wholeheartedly in order to assert their claims of innocence. Only those who fear justice threaten to destroy the temple in a desperate act of suicide.

    As such, Hezbollah and Syria have been trying to sell the idea that serving justice on the Hariri murder is tantamount to civil war. To spice it up, Syrian cronies often argue that the Syrian army will reoccupy Lebanon in case war breaks out. What Hezbollah and Syria always fail to realize, however, is that killing the tribunal might prove to be the final nail in the coffin of Lebanon’s civil peace.

    Family, friends, followers and supporters of Hariri, Samir Kassir, George Hawi, Gebran Tueni, Pierre Gemayel, Antoine Ghanem, Walid Eido and Wissam Eid – among others – are only silent because they hope justice will be served for these men’s murders.

    If justice is scrapped on the way to cracking a “final solution,” however, frustration might grow and these silent Lebanese might not remain silent for long. In the absence of justice, they might seek revenge. We know from bitter experience both here and in Iraq that there are no winners in a civil war.

    It is unfortunate that Hezbollah and Syria are pushing Lebanon to a crossroads. Either way might lead to civil strife.

  5. Tarie Al fanarie Avatar
    Tarie Al fanarie

    Tony and whoever care to click and read this article. I know you want justice but this is really a good opinion about HA and the STL.

    http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=192181

    1. r Avatar
      r

      How can I as a neutral person believe an STL that started out accusing Syria and publishing reports of it’s guilt. And then just like that change course and wanting to accuse someone else.

      Listen, let’s assume that Syria or HA or some combination from both did it. Regardless of that assumption, STL indicted itself by it’s own errors. It lost all credibility. What did they cut a deal with Syria with an american approval? Will you then just enjoy seeing an innocent part getting indicted? Should HA pay the price if Syria cut the deal? I am sure HA’s enemies (in and out) would like that.

      Another point that you want to keep an open mind to is that there is a chance that hitsrael really did it. The west+ histrael are really trying to get rid of HA (you agree to that no?). Let’s see what the man has to say Monday. He is not one that accustomed us to be lying, however I will also keep an open mind whether he is this time.

      But really now? What kind of a retarded court is this that takes 5 years and makes a U turn like that? .. Are they enjoying getting paid while they get fed bull crap.

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