Reports about Confidentiality of Hariri Murder Indictment 'Not True'

It is not true that the German trial team commander in the Office of Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has said that the Hariri murder indictment is going to be confidential.

It seems that some journalists taking part in the International Media Forum in The Hague were caught in a cloud of confusion.

The German officer started off by explaining in detail the elements of the indictment being prepared in a bid to compare its content with the charges to be issued by the Lebanese judiciary, or those already issued by the international judiciary in war crimes in the former Yugoslavia (according to details published by Naharnet earlier).

In response to a question asked by a Lebanese journalist about the possibility that the indictment be kept confidential, he said that "Article 74 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence allows, under exceptional circumstances at the request of the Prosecutor or the defense, the pre-trial judge to order not to make the indictment public pending another order in this respect."

Senior STL sources stressed to Naharnet that the German officer in Bellemare's office was responding to a question and that his answer does not reflect the trend the Prosecutor intends to adopt in the indictment.

They explained that the journalist who asked the question is known for his anti-Tribunal stances and growing suspicions in STL work.

In his question, the journalist referred to paragraph B of Article 74 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, which states that "notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (A), the Prosecutor may announce the indictment or any part of it to the authorities of a particular country if he sees the need for that."

The journalist went on to ask whether it was possible for Bellemare to use the content of this article to brief Israel on the content of the indictment. The German officer believed this was more of a political position and decided not to answer, prompting the Lebanese journalist in an article he published in his newspaper to consider the non-answer as an increase in the doubts raised by some Lebanese political parties about the politicization of the Court and the Israeli role in its work.

The source concluded by saying that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was "keeping a close eye" on the stances made by Lebanese political officials as well as the work of the Lebanese media. They believe that the problem is one of credibility with their followers and not a professional problem.