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Lebanon prosecutor files Hariri killing indictment

18 January 2011 00:41 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. The prosecutor of the international Lebanon tribunal issued a draft indictment on Monday over the 2005 killing of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, APA reports quoting â€œReutersâ€.
The contents of the draft indictment, which will now be reviewed by pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen, were not revealed, and details of the charge sheet may not emerge for another six to 10 weeks, when Fransen is expected to decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed with a trial.
Tension in Lebanon ahead of the expected indictment sparked a crisis last week when the government collapsed after ministers from the Shi’ite Hezbollah group and its allies walked out of Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri’s coalition.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, or STL, have been expected to indict Hezbollah members over the assassination, a prospect Lebanese politicians fear could fuel further tensions.
Hezbollah has repeatedly denied any involvement in the killing. Its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said last year he will not allow the arrest of any of the group’s members.
"The prosecutor of the tribunal has submitted an indictment and supporting materials to the pre-trial judge," the U.N.-backed tribunal said in a statement.
The tribunal said the documents were handed to the registry at 1535 GMT, but added that the contents of the indictment will remain confidential at this stage.
"The prosecutor and his team will continue to vigorously pursue his mandate with respect to both continued investigative activity and the prosecution of this case," the office of prosecutor said in a statement.
It added that the indictment marks the beginning of the judicial phase of the tribunal’s work and that prosecutor Daniel Bellemare "will address the significance of the filing" in a videotaped statement on Tuesday.