The Special Tribunal for Lebanon announced that on December 1, it will hold a verdict hearing against Hezbollah leader Salim Ayyash, who was convicted in absentia for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
In a statement, the court said that "the punishment will be read during a public session that will be held on Friday 11 December, and it will be broadcast live on the Internet."
On 14 February 2005, Rafik Hariri was killed, along with 21 others, and 226 others were wounded in the detonation of a truck bomb driven by a suicide bomber as his motorcade drove past Beirut.
Political accusations were made against the Syrian regime and Hezbollah of being behind the assassination.
Earlier, on August 18 and at the conclusion of a six-year trial, the court issued, unanimously, a verdict in which it considered that Ayyash “indisputably guilty” of the five charges brought against him, namely, “masterminding a conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act and committing a terrorist act using an explosive device; Hariri was deliberately killed using explosive materials; another 21 people were deliberately killed by using explosive materials; and an attempted intention to kill 226 people with explosive materials. "
On the other hand, the court acquitted the remaining three defendants, who in turn belonged to Hezbollah, and were tried in absentia because the Lebanese authorities were unable to arrest them and hand them over to the court, and because of the party's refusal to hand over any of its members to a court that it considers "politicized" and refuses to recognize it.
In its statement, the court said, "The first instance room will now impose a penalty in relation to each charge of which Ayyash was convicted, or impose a single penalty that includes his entire criminal behavior, and the punishment imposed on a convicted person could reach life imprisonment."
The court, which was formed by a UN Security Council resolution, considered the assassination of Hariri to be political and carried out by “whom he (the late PM) posed a threat to,” but indicated that “there is no evidence that the leadership of Hezbollah had a role in the assassination, and there is no direct evidence of involvement. Syria is in it. "
Follow the latest news on Google News
