STL’s Registrar Says Trials Open Mid-2012

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Registrar Herman von Hebel stressed on Friday that the trials in the case of the assassination of ex-Premier Rafik Hariri will begin in mid-2012 whether they were in the presence of the suspects or in absentia, As Safir newspaper reported.

“The final decision in setting the timing goes back to the judges,” Von Hebel said.

He said “we expect that the Lebanese government funds 49% of the STL’s general budget.”

Von Hebel ruled out the possibility of funding the tribunal by Lebanese individuals.

The Registrar reiterated: “PM (Najib) Miqati had stressed his commitment to the international resolutions, and we expect from him that.”

Asked about Hizbullah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah’s claims that the international investigation commission moved the STL’s computers from Lebanon to the Netherlands through Israel, saying that they were manipulated, von Hebel refused to answer the question asking to refer it to prosecutor Daniel Bellemare’s office.

“We’ve taken many measures to protect the confidentiality of the information,” he stressed, noting that “leaking (information) has no effect on the jurisdiction decisions.”

Concerning the legal confusion about the submission of the Lebanese judiciary of the relevant files of the attacks against former ministers Marwan Hamadeh and Elias al-Murr and the assassination of ex-Lebanese Communist Party leader Georges Hawi, the registrar said “we expect from the Lebanese authorities to respond to that decision.”

Hebel said the STL’s main system “allows us to follow up the perpetrators of the February, 14, 2005 attack. And since the attacks that happened between October, 1, 2004 and January, 12, 2005 are relevant to the Feb. 14 attack the pre-trial judge had to issue this order.”