STL awaiting Hezbollah evidence

Al-Hayat newspaper reported Thursday that the office of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare sent an official written request to Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza asking him to provide all the information in possession of Hezbollah in line with an agreement signed between the Justice Ministry and the STL Prosecutor.

Al-Hayat cited well-informed sources as saying that Mirza, in turn, passed on the request to Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah via

Wafiq Safa, Head of Hezbollah’s Coordination and Liaison Committee.

Al-Hayat sources said Hezbollah promised to give Bellemare an answer “later.”

A senior Hezbollah source, meanwhile, told Al-Liwaa newspaper that Bellemare’s request for data “will not change our perspective and lack of confidence in the performance of the International Tribunal and the investigating committee.”

“This request includes the video material that was shown on television during the press conference, as well any other material that would be of assistance to the Office of the Prosecutor in unveiling the truth,” Bellemare’s press release said.

The Office of the Prosecutor also invited Nasrallah “to use his authority to facilitate its investigation.”

“Away from the spotlight, the Office of the Prosecutor is pursuing its investigation according to the highest standards of international justice, in a neutral and objective way. The Office of the Prosecutor is led by the evidence and nothing else,” said the press release.

The Office of the Prosecutor said it has “the sole responsibility for the investigation and acts independently,” stressing that “nobody can influence its direction.”

“As such, it must pursue all possible leads,” added Bellemare’s request.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah tried Monday night during a televised press conference to present evidence including footage he said came from Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) monitoring Hariri to prove that Israel was behind the assassination of Hariri. He also presented a confession from a suspected Israeli spy .

Many Lebanese leaders praised STL for showing interest in receiving and evaluating the Hezbollah evidence.