The investigation into the assassination of former
prime minister Rafik Hariri has been considered suspect on many fronts. (Photo:
Haytham al-Moussawi)
The prosecution in
the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) has promised that it still
has some hidden cards to play, the most prominent of which is a long list of
witnesses that has been leaked to Al-Akhbar.
Since its inception in 2005, the investigation into the assassination of
former prime minister Rafik Hariri has been considered suspect on many fronts.
Questions were raised as to who really controls the process and the background
of the individuals carrying out the investigation.
After the STL was formed to conduct the trial, these suspicions were not
allayed, particularly given that the indictment was based on the testimonies of
hundreds of witnesses and based on evidence related to cell phone networks.
The color-coded phone communications networks that the case centers on were
developed by Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF) officers in 2005,
indirectly implicating Hezbollah in the crime.
According to the official schedule, the tribunal is set to begin its
proceedings in March, when the prosecution will lay out their case, backing it
up with evidence and witnesses.
The defense team is currently studying its options, given the short amount of
time provided to examine the case and develop a strategy, not to mention the
pressures they have been subjected to in order to force them to provide “legal
cover” to what is essentially a political trial.
The tribunal’s rules grant the defense team as much time as needed to develop
their case, in addition to requiring the Lebanese government to cooperate with
them just as it did with the prosecution’s office.
But close observers of the tribunal say there is no comparison between the
kind of resources made available to the prosecution and the defense. For all
purposes, the prosecution (and the preceding investigative committee) have been
working on the case since 2005.
The defense has the right to request postponing the
trial – and in fact they are considering such an action – but the head judge is
under pressure from countries funding the tribunal that they want to see results
soon or the money will stop.
In past years, Al-Akhbar, along with Lebanese, Arab, European, US,
Canadian, and Australian media outlets, have revealed much of the internal
proceedings of the case, publishing leaked documents from both the investigation
and the STL.
This may be due to the fact that most of the people conducting the
investigation and the prosecution have ties to Western intelligence agencies,
with whom they continue to cooperate.
The various politicians, judges, and security personnel involved in the
investigation and tribunal have been promising us from the very beginning that
they have in their possession undisputed evidence that will prove their
case.
They promised “surprises” that would establish the guilt of the four Lebanese
generals wrongfully imprisoned in the early days of the investigation, only for
them to be released in April 2009 for lack of any evidence against them.
Similar promises were made when the Syrian regime was later accused of the
crime, only to be exonerated and replaced by Hezbollah as the main suspect.
Again, the same people are playing the same game, claiming that despite the
apparent weakness of the case, the prosecution possesses “surprises” that will
prove the accusations outlined by prosecutor Daniel Bellemare 18 months ago
beyond a shadow of a doubt.
Most prominent among these “trump cards” that the prosecution has up its
sleeve is an army of witnesses that, according to official estimates, number
close to 600, of which the defense will receive only 20 percent of their
testimonies.
However, sources confirmed to Al-Akhbar that the number of witnesses
is actually far higher, with “several hundred” more, including politicians and a
variety of experts and technicians.
They will be joined by others such as witnesses at the scene of the crime who
will help recreate it. There are also owners of cell phone shops and car rental
companies among the witnesses.
Al-Akhbar has gained access to a list of
witnesses that the prosecution plans to present at the trial to help prove their
case. A sample
of the list can be found on the Arabic-language website. The roster of witnesses
shows the nature of the prosecution’s evidence, which is circumstantial at
best.
(Al-Akhbar)
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic
Edition.
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