The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) on Tuesday found a member of the Shiite Hezbollah movement guilty in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, while acquitting the other three suspects in the case.
Salim Ayyash, 56, was sentenced in his absence by the Netherlands-based court for his role in the suicide bombing in Beirut, killing 22 people, including Sunni billionaire Rafic Hariri, who was running for another term in office. head of the Lebanese government.
“The Trial Chamber finds Mr. Ayyash guilty beyond a reasonable doubt as a co-perpetrator of the intentional homicide of Rafic Hariri,” presiding Judge David Re said.
Magistrates will later sentence Mr. Ayyash, who faces life imprisonment if he ever needs to be returned to court.
After six years of trial, “we sincerely hope that today’s verdict will allow you to mourn,” he said, addressing the victims and their families.
After hearing nearly 300 witnesses and examining more than 3,000 pieces of evidence, the court judges, however, found that there was not enough evidence to convict the other three suspects, Hassan Merhi, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra.
The judges also said that there was no evidence to establish a direct link between the attack and Syria or the Hezbollah movement.
Mobile phone
The conviction of Sali Ayyash, the main suspect in the case, rests entirely on the use of mobile phones to organize the suicide bombing in Beirut that killed Rafic Hariri.
Rafic Hariri, Prime Minister until his resignation in October 2004, was killed in February 2005, when a suicide bomber blew up a van full of explosives as his armored convoy passed by on the Beirut seafront, leaving 226 wounded.
His death, in which four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals were initially accused of being involved, sparked a wave of protests at the time, leading to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after nearly 30 years of presence in Lebanon.
Saad Hariri, son of Rafic Hariri and also a former Lebanese Prime Minister, was present to attend the hearing, in Leidschendam, near The Hague, where the STL is based.
Hezbollah, an ally of the Syrian regime and Iran, has rejected any responsibility and declared that it does not recognize the STL, set up after a UN Security Council resolution.
As none of the accused were handed over to court, they were tried in absentia. Both prosecution and defense can appeal the judgment.
The main suspect Salim Ayyash was convicted of “intentional homicide” and of leading the team that carried out the attack.
The judges said on Tuesday that they were “convinced beyond a reasonable doubt” that Salim Ayyash was the user of several mobile phones used to monitor Mr. Hariri during the months preceding the attack, a key part of the dossier formed. by the prosecution.
The magistrates also indicated that they were convinced that Mr. Ayyash – also accused of being involved in three other attacks against politicians in 2004 and 2005 – “had links with Hezbollah”.
“Syria and Hezbollah may have had motives to eliminate Mr. Hariri and his political allies, but there is no evidence that Hezbollah leaders were involved in Mr. Hariri’s murder and there is no “There is no direct evidence of Syrian involvement,” however, presiding judge David Re said.
Hussein Oneissi, 46, and Assad Sabra, 43, were notably prosecuted for recording a fake videotape claiming responsibility for the crime on behalf of a fictitious group.
Minute of silence
The last suspect, Hassan Habib Merhi, 54, also faced several charges, such as complicity in the commission of an act of terrorism and conspiracy to commit that act.
Judges raised insufficient evidence linking Hassan Habib Merhi and Assad Sabra to phones.
Moustafa Badreddine, the main suspect described as the “mastermind” of the attack by investigators, has since died and has therefore not been tried.
At the opening of the hearing on Tuesday, the STL observed a minute of silence for the victims of the August 4 explosion that devastated Beirut.
The court postponed the reading of the verdict, initially scheduled for August 7, “out of respect for the countless victims” of the devastating explosion three days earlier at the port of the Lebanese capital, which left at least 177 dead and more than 6,500 wounded.