Pre-Trial Judge issues international arrest warrants against accused in Hariri’s murder

Days after the indictment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri’s case was said to be released by the so-called Special Tribunal for Lebanon, the tribunal’s press office declared in a statement that the Pre-Trial Judge, Daniel Fransen, issued on Friday July 8 international arrest warrants against the accused persons in the attack.

The statement said that the Tribunal has requested Interpol to notify all States of the arrest warrants following a request from STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare.

Fransen’s decision authorized the Office of the Prosecutor to provide Interpol with the necessary information to issue a “red notice” against each accused, it added.

The statement also noted that the issuing of international warrants comes after the confirmation of an indictment and its transmission along with domestic arrest warrants to the Lebanese authorities on June 30, 2011.

The tribunal’s press office went on to claim that the confirmation of that indictment means that the Pre-Trial Judge has ruled that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to trial. However, it said the indictment remains confidential, adding that, at this stage, the STL has no comment to make about the identity of those accused.

The indictment is believed by a major part of Lebanese, including Hezbollah, as being a tool in the hands of the West and a part of a conspiracy targeting the Resistance and its allies, with the aim of creating strife in the region.