STL

Bulletin
June 2014
The STL Bulletin provides a monthly overview of the latest judicial developments, news, and visits to the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon. It is one of a number of publications produced by the Tribunal. You can read them all at
http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/media.

Judicial developments
Status Conference on 16 June
The Trial Chamber convened a pre-trial conference on
16 June to discuss a number of issues related to the
resumption of trial in the Ayyash et al. case.
The Trial Chamber confirmed the date for the
Prosecutions opening statement for 18 June and the
Merhi Defences opening statement for 19 June. It was
also decided that on Tuesday 24 June the Trial Chamber
will start hearing the evidence of seven Prosecution
witnesses.
In the course of the hearing, the Legal Representatives of
Victims (LRV) indicated that one victim participating
in the proceedings requested to be present in the
courtroom on 18 June. The Trial Chamber granted this
oral application.
The Trial Chamber also ordered the Defence Office
to renegotiate the Memorandum of Understanding
between the Defence Office and Lebanon.

Prosecutions opening statement

On 18 June, trial in the Ayyash et al. case resumed.
Ms Yasma Fuleihan, widow of Mr Bassel Fuleihan who
was killed as a result of the 14 February 2005 attack,
was present in the courtroom. The Lead LRV gave an
account of the suffering that Mr Fuleihan endured
following the attack, and his subsequent death two
months later.
16 January 2014: The Ayyash et al. trial opened before the
Trial Chamber.
Since then 15 Prosecution witnesses have been heard and
the written statements of another 48 were admitted into
evidence.
11 February 2014: The case against Hassan Habib Merhi
was joined to the case against the other four accused.

Then the two Senior Prosecution counsel presented

the Prosecutors opening statement. They described the
terrorist attack and its aftermath in detail, and provided
an overview of the human and material losses. The

www.stl-tsl.org
Dokter van der Stamstraat 1, 2265 BC Leidschendam, Netherlands PO Box 115, 2260 AC Leidschendam, Netherlands.
For more information please contact the Public Information and Communications Section: stl-pressoffice@un.org Tel : +31 (0) 70 800 3560 / 3828 and +961 4 538 100 (Beirut)
www.twitter.com/stlebanonwww.facebook.com/stlebanonwww.youtube.com/stlebanonwww.flickr.com/stlebanon

Senior Prosecution counsel also spoke about the role of

the five Accused before focusing on the alleged role that
Mr Merhi is believed to have played in the conspiracy to
assassinate the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafiq
Hariri. Additionally, counsel focused on the various
phone networks purported to have been involved in the
conspiracy.

the attack. The body was later identified as belonging to

Mr Mahmoud Al Mohammad.

In the opening statement, the Prosecution illustrated

the alleged hierarchy between the users of the different
phone networks and the patterns of phone calls among
them. The Prosecution divided the criminal conspiracy
to kill Mr Hariri into five stages, and described the role
of Mr Merhi in each stage.

Co-counsel for Mr Badreddine asked the witness about

his/her activities on 14 February 2005. Subsequently,
co-counsel for Mr Oneissi asked for Witness 450s
telephone number, which he obtained, and co-counsel
for Mr Ayyash raised with the witness how the crime
scene was handled.

Legal Consultant for the Merhi team cross-examined

the witness about the responsibilities of the witness
and the military police, as well as the procedures of
preserving and investigating the crime scene.

Prosecution Witness Shadi Saadeddine, identified as

PRH 499, testified via VTC following PRH 450s
testimony. Mr Saadeddine is First Lieutenant in the
Counter-terrorism and Major Crimes Unit of the
Internal Security Forces today. He was tasked with
inspecting some of the damaged buildings in the area
around the crime scene in his capacity as an adjutant
affiliated to the Beirut Police. He was cross-examined
briefly by the Legal Consultant of the Merhi Defence
team before the hearing was adjourned.

Merhi Defences opening statement

Lead counsel for Hassan Habib Merhi, Mr Aouini,
presented the Defences opening statement on 19 June.
The Defence began the opening statement by expressing
the deepest sympathy to the victims of the atrocious
and horrific attack of 14 February 2005.
Counsel stated that the Merhi Defence is unable
to develop a detailed line of defence with the trial
starting in a staggered manner. He also argued that the
Prosecutions case can only be understood as a whole
because the alleged acts in the indictment are interrelated.
Moreover, Counsel spoke about an alleged inequality
of arms between the Prosecution and Defence, and the
use of circumstantial evidence in the case. Mr Aouini
focused on the defence rights as well as the presumption
of innocence, and said that the Defence will endeavour
to protect the interests of Mr Merhi on the basis of a
possible appearance of the Accused at a later date.

On 26 June the Legal Consultant in the Merhi team

resumed his cross-examination about the inspection
of the buildings surrounding the crime scene. He
also asked the witness about his role in protecting
the crime scene on 14 February 2005 and the level of
coordination between the various security and defence
agencies in Lebanon. Moreover, the Legal Consultant
and Trial Chamber Judges asked Mr Saadeddine about
the presence of dogs trained to locate humans in the
crime scene.
All transcripts in the Ayyash et al. case can be found here.

Following the Defences opening statement, Prosecution

counsel read on the record summaries of the statements
of four Prosecution witnesses.

Assignment of Counsel in the case against Akhbar

Beirut S.A.L. and Ibrahim Mohamed Ali al Amin

Presentation of evidence by the Prosecution

On 5 June, the Contempt Judge Nicola Lettieri issued a

decision providing written reasons for the assignment of
counsel in the case against Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and Mr
Ibrahim Mohamed Ali Al Amin (STL-14-06). Judge
Lettieri had ordered the Head of the Defence Office to
assign counsel to Mr Ibrahim Al Amin pursuant to Rule
59 (F) of the STLs Rules of Procedure and Evidence
during the initial appearances held on 29 May 2014.

On 24 June, the Prosecution started presenting evidence

in the Ayyash et al. case.
A Prosecution witness identified as PRH 450 appeared
before the Trial Chamber under protective measures via
video teleconference (VTC). PRH 450 worked at the
Lebanese Military Police with the rank of a Lieutenant
Colonel at the time of the 14 February 2005 attack. The
witnesss written testimony focused on how the witness
retrieved a burnt body at the crime scene one week after

On 30 June, The Head of the Defence Office assigned

Mr Antonios Abou Kasm, member of the Beirut Bar

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

Association, to represent Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and Mr

Al Amin before the STL.
All filings in the case STL-14-06 can be accessed here.

Developments in the case against New TV S.A.L.

and Karma Khayat
On 16 June, the Defence for New TV S.A.L. filed a
preliminary motion challenging jurisdiction, arguing
that the Tribunal lacks jurisdiction to institute criminal
proceedings against a legal person. The Amicus Prosecutor
replied to this motion on 30 June, submitting that the
STL does not lack jurisdiction to indict legal persons
for contempt under Rule 60bis of the STLs Rules of
Procedure and Evidence.

On 30 June, the Amicus Curiae Prosecutor also

submitted his response to the twenty amicus curiae
briefs received by the STL on the issue of the Tribunals
jurisdiction over the case against New TV S.A.L. and
Karma Khayat. The Amicus responded to the arguments
raised by the various briefs, both in favour and against
the STLs jurisdiction, and in light of these arguments
concluded that the STL has full jurisdiction over this
contempt case.
All amicus curiae briefs submitted can be found here.

Other judicial developments

For a concise summary of all judicial developments, please
refer to the Judicial Brief at http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/
media/judicial-brief.

News and Visits

Presidents visit to Beirut
The President of the STL, Judge Sir David Baragwanath,
visited Beirut in the last week of June. He met with
Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Minister of Justice
Ashraf Rifi, the Prosecutor-General Samir Hammoud,
and Chief Justice Jean Fahed, as well as the Head and
other members of the Beirut Bar Association.

Outreach events in the United States

Outreach events were held in the United States at the
end of May with the President and the Registrar
addressing a group of legal NGOs at the International
Center for Transitional Justice in New York. In
Washington DC the Registrar gave a talk to the Wilson
Center, which was well attended by policy specialists
(http://www.wilsoncenter.org/event/the-specialtribunal-for-lebanon-why-it-matters).

Visits
In June, the STL hosted visits for students from Santa
Clara University School of Law, the Grotius Centre for
International Legal Studies, the TMC Asser Institute,
and Saint Louis University. Visits were also organised
for groups coming from The Hague Institute for
Global Justice, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples
Organisation, as well as a delegation of senior judges
from Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya organised by the
Peace and Justice Initiative.
Visits to the Tribunal can be arranged for groups to provide
an insight into the work of the STL. Please fill in our
online booking form to request a group visit.

STL links
To access all STL filings, please refer to
http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/filings-all-cases
For job vacancies, please refer to
http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/jobs

www.stl-tsl.org
Dokter van der Stamstraat 1, 2265 BC Leidschendam, Netherlands PO Box 115, 2260 AC Leidschendam, Netherlands.
For more information please contact the Public Information and Communications Section: stl-pressoffice@un.org Tel : +31 (0) 70 800 3560 / 3828 and +961 4 538 100 (Beirut)
www.twitter.com/stlebanonwww.facebook.com/stlebanonwww.youtube.com/stlebanonwww.flickr.com/stlebanon