The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is looking into the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, dispatched to Beirut a security team to meet with relatives of the victims before the release of the final verdict in the case.
Sources close to the Tribunal told Asharq Al-Awsat on Monday that the team arrived in Beirut a few days ago.
The team was also in contact with a number of witnesses, who could not directly meet with members of the Tribunal.
“The security mission held direct meetings and contacts with around 300 people, including family members of victims of Hariri’s assassination,” the sources revealed.
They added that the mission had foreseen a fact-finding task.
“The STL team is asking the relatives and witnesses questions about what they expect reactions will be to the verdict and whether they believe the STL’s ruling will create an upheaval in Lebanon or simply be limited to political and media debates,” similar to what happened when the UN Security Council issued its resolution to establish the STL, they said.
Hariri and 21 others were killed in a massive bombing in Beirut in February 2005. The Security Council classified his murder as a "terrorist" crime, appointed an international commission of inquiry and then established the STL for the prosecution of the accused.
Four Hezbollah members have been indicted in the crime. Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra are currently facing trial in absentia. They are charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, along with a number of other related charges.
The STL team currently present in Beirut is carrying out its fact-finding mission in total secrecy. The team also agreed with families of victims to stay in touch without informing them about the date of the delivery of the judgment.
