STL Indicts Fifth 'Hizbullah Supporter' in Hariri Assassination
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Special Tribunal for Lebanon Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen confirmed on Thursday an indictment against Hassan Habib Merhi who is accused of being involved in the February 14, 2005 Beirut attack that killed former Premier Rafik Hariri and 22 others.
The confirmed indictment and an arrest warrant were transmitted confidentially to the Lebanese authorities on August 6 so that they could search for, arrest and transfer the accused to STL custody, announced the tribunal in a statement on Thursday.
The Lebanese authorities were given 30 calendar days to carry out this obligation and report back on their efforts by September 5, 2013.
On September 6, the Lebanese Prosecutor General submitted his confidential report to Tribunal President, Judge Sir David Baragwanath, stating that so far the accused has not been found. Subsequently, the STL President requested additional measures be taken by the Lebanese authorities.
All of these steps have been confidential until now to allow the Lebanese authorities the best opportunity to apprehend the accused, continued the STL statement.
Merhi, is charged with a number of crimes including the crime of conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act. He is alleged to have acted in a conspiracy with Hizbullah members Mustafa Amin Badreddine, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi, and Assad Hassan Sabra in relation to the attack on February 14, 2005, all of whom have already been indicted.
The accused Merhi is alleged to have coordinated the preparation of the purported claim of responsibility as part of the preparations for and in furtherance of, the attack, said the STL statement.
The STL said Merhi is “a supporter of Hizbullah” who was born on December 12, 1965 in Beirut.
“He is the son of Habib Merhi and Latifa Abbas,” it added, revealing that he has resided in Burj al-Barajneh and that “he is a citizen of Lebanon” whose “Lebanese civil registration is 1126/Zqaq-EI-Blat.”
"Merhi, together with Badreddine, coordinated the preparation of the false claim of responsibility, and, at times, was in contact with Ayyash in relation to the preparations for the attack. Merhi, prior to the attack, coordinated the activities of Oneissi and Sabra in order to identify a suitable individual, later identified as Ahmad Abu Adass, who would be used to make a video-taped false claim of responsibility for the attack,” the court announced in its indictment.
“Immediately following the attack, Merhi, coordinated the activities of Oneissi and Sabra, who participated in (i) disseminating statements falsely attributing responsibility for the attack; (ii) ensuring the delivery of the video, with a letter attached, containing the false claim of responsibility to Al-Jazeera; and (iii) ensuring the video would be broadcast,” it added.
Under the current circumstances in Lebanon, Baragwanath has deemed the efforts by the Lebanese authorities to be sufficient to justify alternative means to search for the accused. As a result, he has determined to initiate a 30-day public advertisement phase with the help of the Lebanese authorities to locate the accused as well as to inform him of the charges against him and of his rights, which are guaranteed under international law.
He also calls on the Lebanese authorities to "reinvigorate and intensify their efforts to apprehend" the accused.
Lebanon has an ongoing obligation under United Nations Security Council Resolution 1757 to search for, arrest and transfer the accused to STL custody.
The STL Prosecution’s case and charges against Merhi are outlined in the publicly redacted version of the indictment.
The pre-trial judge has set tentatively January 13, 2014 as the first day of trial for these four accused.
Later on Thursday, STL Prosecutor Norman Farrell welcomed the public announcement of the indictment against Merhi, saying: “The Office of the Prosecutor continues its efforts to fully investigate and prosecute those alleged to be responsible for the attack on 14 February 2005.”
“Recognizing that all suspects are presumed innocent and have the right to a full defense, the Prosecution is working towards accountability, preparing to present reliable and credible evidence to the Trial Chamber,” he added.
The prosecutor stated that “my Office remains committed to working at full capacity to bring perpetrators to justice and, by doing so, to achieve a just result for the victims”.
Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has rejected the STL, describing it as an American-Israeli product bent on destroying the party.
He has vowed never to cooperate with the tribunal, saying that the suspects will never be found.
20131004 A01 F0012 PUBLIC OTP Req Lifting Confiden Indictment en Joomla by Naharnet
10 October 2013, 16:39
1018
hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah..... Saint Hassan Habib Merhi has just been canonized!!!!
Oh when the saints go marching in
When the saints go marching in
Oh lord I want to be in that number
When the saints go marching in
10 October 2013, 17:26
1910
THE CONSPIRACY 48.
BADREDDINE, AYYASH, ONEISSI, SABRA and MERHI,
together with others as yet unidentified, including the assassination team, agreed to commit a terrorist act
by means of an explosive device in order to assassinate HARIRI.
hahahahaha "others as yet unidentified, including the assassination team"
8 years, hundreds of millions of dollars, and they're telling us they still dont know who the assassination team is? how many billions will it cost us for a fabricated report on that?
10 October 2013, 17:30
1016
mowaten you seem afraid... desperation leaks through each of your desperate attempts to appear smarter than a team of international investigators....
10 October 2013, 17:35
1015
maybe if they interrogate these suspects they can get further info ya mooowate. that's how investigations work but of course nasrocrap already declared them saints.
10 October 2013, 18:04
1010
"newsflash: nobody believes them, they are indeed smart, but they're only fooling idiots."
sure mowaten sure.. ;only stupid hezbis detain the truth because the whole world is zionist but we hezbis know better! LOL the only ones to hate them are hezbis and M8ers....
we have evidence but we won't give it! so we bark like fools we are! LOL
10 October 2013, 18:06
1015
Mowaten: you are for sure paid to post! I counted over 20 posts so far! You think this blog belongs to your family. Are you in love with yourself? Spare us your sectarian opinions. We know you are a HA operative.... give us a break. It is so boring to see you plastering this site with mediaeval like comments. Grow up or find yourself a hobby. Are you married by any chance?
10 October 2013, 18:48
169
oh wow 20 posts! so now i must be rich. gonna eat some chicken tonight!
but hey buddy, if i was a paid poster i'd do like you: create 20 accounts and post with them while upvoting my own comments.
10 October 2013, 16:55
1016
Harriri's assassination was not as simple as 5 guys got together and said lets kill him. The orders were given by Nassrallah himself through wafiq safa and the revolutionary guards. Nassrallah should be arrested and tried. The rest is a joke!
10 October 2013, 17:20
209
wow anonyme, did you run your own investigation? i hope it's more solid than the STL who only relies on the telecom data that was hacked by israel.
10 October 2013, 17:32
1012
"did you run your own investigation?" why do you criticize him while you do the SAME THING LOL!
10 October 2013, 17:34
179
I think Wissam Eid found that the data was showing something else, and that is why he was killed. The records he had taken from the phone companies were older, possibly prior to the israeli hacks and modifications. Maybe he had found proof incriminating israel and that's why they took him out.
10 October 2013, 17:37
109
1/ "I think Wissam Eid found that the data was showing something else"
pure assumption on your part....
2/ "possibly prior to the israeli hacks and modifications. Maybe he had found proof incriminating israel "
another assumption...
seems you believe more in assumptions than in EVIDENCE ... no wonder why hezbi believe in a israeli conspiracy... it comes all from their heads! LOL
10 October 2013, 17:38
159
regarding the hacks, yes there is proof that the telecom companies in lebanon were hacked, hardware devices placed on the servers as well as software showed that israel had had full control of these servers for possibly 3 years.
and thanks for the expertise on retrieving data, but i'm sure if i know ways to prevent recovery, world-class hackers probably also do. and probably have their own super-softwares.
http://eraser.heidi.ie/
10 October 2013, 17:39
169
anonyme: that's not an analysis, that's a fictional story. it's based on assumptions, and wishful thinking.
10 October 2013, 17:41
169
anonyme, you're insane. you are seriously using unproven accusations of assassination (the 3 men) to pretend proving another unproven allegation?
10 October 2013, 17:44
169
you guys are hilarious. you keep making accusations based on assumptions, and present them as if they were facts
"why would Hezbollah kill Wissam Eid who found out about the cell by analysing the data?"
"Bashar already took precautions to sever the link to him giving the order, by assassinating Kenaan, Syrian colonel & Mughnieh."
just to cite those two.
and you come and tell i dont have the right to make my own assumption, which is clearly presented as such by the use >of "i think"< ?
damn you guys really have low IQs, i wish your mouths were proportionally sized.
10 October 2013, 17:46
169
and peace, special kudos for you incredible assumption detecting skills. what gave it away? was it the "maybe" or the "i think" ?
i'm still waiting to see the slightest EVIDENCE from your part.
10 October 2013, 17:59
910
"and peace,
i'm still waiting to see the slightest EVIDENCE from your part."
poor mowaten... unlike you i do not PRETEND to know the truth. i do not PRETEND to base my accusations on assumptions dictated by turban man!
i just see the obvious! : a whole team of INTERNATIONAL experts from various countries investigated. suspects were designated. UNLIKE you i do not say the STL has nothing and is just an israeli machine (btw how strong israelis are to manipulate DOZENS of countries! LOL) because they base their accusations on FACTS!
so i do not suffer from a complex of superiority like you therfore my thoughts are clean, unlike your brainwashed empty brain.....
if you ask me evidence does it mean you have evidence? LOL does it mean you know better than a whole team of experts? so go to the STL and give them your proofs, or just like nasrallah all is barking and nothing is handed to the STL? LOL
10 October 2013, 18:03
199
anonyme: i dont have theories for that.
flamecatcher: yes, accusations are unproven, but i think you missed the point by about a dozen miles here. i was saying you cant pretend to prove an accusation with another unproven accusation. and your comeback is to say it's unproven? man...
as for what you said about computers, yes, there is always a possibility that things are altered/modified/planted in a computer, with or without israeli software.
as for motive, means and opportunity, many MANY others qualify.
10 October 2013, 18:40
169
lol. sorry i'm not as good with "theories" as you guys. i usually tend more towards sticking to facts, shame on me.
10 October 2013, 18:54
107
lol. sorry i'm not as good with "theories" as you guys. i usually tend more towards sticking to facts, shame on me.
LOL look who is speaking the only one here basing his allegations on hezbi theory! LOL
10 October 2013, 16:59
913
Jail and trial for Nasrallah the traitor now! Lebanon's number one enemy has to be arrested.
10 October 2013, 17:01
108
Congrats guys.
the result of the latest meetings and developments is that assad and iran gave in on hizbushaitan too :)
hizbushaitan is going to be non existent soon. this is the deal made between the US and Russia.
10 October 2013, 17:09
119
nothing silly about that :)
all that is important to the world is Israel safety, and I hope we agree on that?
what was still threatening Israel? assad chemical weapons and hizbushaitan missiles.
iran and assad traded them off :)
goodbye little boy :)
10 October 2013, 17:34
107
"The criminal west and M14 leaders are very moral, which is why they support leaders like Samir Geaga with clean reputation who was never involved in assassinations not to mention massacres."
LOL... seems you do not believe in the lebanese justice as well! LOL ... geagea like it or not was jailed then freed by the justice after he paid his debt... so he is clean now! LOL
10 October 2013, 17:36
108
just wait a bit and you will start seeing the international court moving very fast rom now on :)
keep dreaming guys :) you seriously make me laugh :)
you lost and that is it.
Lebanon is going to be a free country again. vive le Liban.
10 October 2013, 17:12
10
This man and the accused before him were under instructions to carry out this crime. As members of an armed resistance, could they question orders. The instigators and the decision makers to carry it out should be the ones on trial.
Hassan vowed never to corporate with the tribunal because it is an Israel-American product to destroy his party. Thank God for Israel, the nation that created the word scapegoat, has become the scapegoat for every sin committed in the Arab World. What excuse or justification would they give
their sheep if it wasn't for Israel.
10 October 2013, 17:14
209
lol even ice-tea believes the STL is full of BS. the indictment says Merhi is born in Beirut, but even that is source of doubts when coming from such a pack of scheming liars.
10 October 2013, 17:14
117
let them first judge samaha :)
this is all a diversion after they proved the Syrian regime planted the Tripoli bombs.
as for dahiyeh bomb, let hizbushaitan followers reap what they saw.
10 October 2013, 17:18
118
I hate to burst your bubble my friend but Aoun and HA will always have the same excuse, Zionist conspiracy. The sheep will forget about this the next day and the same miserable life in Lebanon will continue as if nothing happened. This unfortunately is not a major development but merely a bug on a windshield to them. I do however agree with you on the history aspect of this. They will go down in the history books as terrorist and will forever be remembered as such.
10 October 2013, 17:38
96
Let's start by the beggining u guys really think that israel killed hariri hawi kassir gemayel tueini.... Most of the guys standing against syrian regime (i know there was time they were with the syrian regime and part of them profited from surian presence in lebanon but in 2005 all those were against the syrian regime as we all recall, if u don't recall their television speechs are still there, it was not that far ago....) so u think that israel decoded to assassinate most of syrian regime opponent in lebanon?.... Really?...
10 October 2013, 17:40
96
for M8ers , syria would never DARE kill lebanese... all is israel! syria never killed anyone in lebanon for M8ers, all israel did it! M8 thanked syria for all the good things they did in lebanon , walaw!
that is why when you attack syria and their lebanese puppets you are called "zionist" LOL
10 October 2013, 23:05
65
"dont make your opponents say things they never said. be a respectable person for once, peace. oh, i forgot, you CANT."
do your hezbi friends suspect syria? never... they say they are "resistants" poor FT...
LOL... just read your mowaten posts carefully he and his israeli theory... syria did it? all M8 says the contrary... so stop your stupid lies that make you appear ridiculous every day here... oh! i forgot you can't...
10 October 2013, 23:13
75
yes he is.... like your hezbi friends.... they all work for the benefit of israel while pretending otherwise... israel would never dream better than a weak country divided by hezbis who maintain lebanon in a state of economical disaster... who allows israel to receive billions of dollars from the us to pay their military thx to hezbis...
israel would never dream of such an ally as bashar who never fired a single bullet to liberate the golan, who never retaliates when israel bombs them even if they threaten to! LOL
so FT you d better think a bit. oh! i forgot YOU CAN'T!
10 October 2013, 17:39
1015
Merhi is from Bourj al-Barajneh in Dahiyeh, and he coordinated the framing of Ahmed Abou Adass. His activities included the recruitment of Abou Adass, the production of the video tape which made the false claim of responsibility for the Hariri murder, and making the phone call advising authorities on where to find the video tape.
Big surprise.... Merhi is a Hezbollah supporter.
10 October 2013, 17:44
99
Merhi is from Bourj al-Barajneh in Dahiyeh, and he coordinated the framing of Ahmed Abou Adass. His activities included the recruitment of Abou Adass, the production of the video tape which made the false claim of responsibility for the Hariri murder, and making the phone call advising authorities on where to find the video tape.
Big surprise.... Merhi is a Hezbollah supporter.
10 October 2013, 17:44
98
2 the STL is politised? Maybe to a certain degree but what would hv been the option? Let our judyciary system take the probe?... Same judyciary system that is still thinking what to do with samaha? Same judyciary system that backed the imprisonement of the students in 7 august (7 ebb) because they were asking that syrian troupe to leave lebanon? In a country where governement cannot be formed because some guys were sent in black shirt on the streets of bey and mont lebanon, in a country where politician publicly go on tv and threaten oponnents (wehab and co...)... Really?
10 October 2013, 17:57
106
3- u guys really think that things can go on, and that we would live like nothing happened? imagine that aoun got killed and bassil and herdan and nasrallah... And the other part of the population is acting like u r doing now... Just try to put urself in their shoes... I know it is not easy to do but just give it a try, what would u hv done?....
10 October 2013, 17:57
179
another one doubts the report, but presents another version, now he is from burj el barajneh. the stl says he is from zokak el blat. damn, this case is becoming more complex by the minute!
10 October 2013, 18:06
98
i wonder why fools like mowaten are soooo arfaid of the STL? they pretend to have EVIDENCE that israel did it... so what are they afraid of?
they just have to present the evidence to defend those hezbis involved! LOL no lawyers would do that according to the "evidence" hezbis have? LOL
10 October 2013, 18:55
105
coz hezbis have NO evidence to prove them innocent, that is all so they build up this whole "conspiracy" theory as usual....
10 October 2013, 18:28
11
Why every suspect in Hariri assassination disappears from the face of this earth ????
Has anybody asked to himself/herself why? Who get rid of them? Who order them to disappear?
The answer to this question will lead u to the rest of the assassination team.
10 October 2013, 18:44
169
1- stl has no power in lebanon according to our constitution, there are nobody to come and judge and arrest anyone.
2- stl proved to be biased by ignoring all other leads.
3- stl's rules of procedure and evidence allows them to condemn someone without sohwing them proof or testimonies. anything can be redacted before being shown to the defense. they can literally tell you "we have an anonymous witness who told us something confidential that incriminates you, and this is supported by secret evidence, what do you have to say to defend yourself?"
big laughs.
10 October 2013, 18:53
1010
"stl has no power in lebanon": it has as the lebanese gvt signed the cooperation between both.... of course it does not please M8, afraid they are of it!
"by ignoring all other leads." your leader never gave the STL his "evidence" so of course... and nothing pointed to those hezbis point at! LOL
"stl's rules of procedure and evidence allows them to condemn someone without sohwing them proof or testimonies" NOBODY is condemned other than in your fantasy world... so far they are "suspects"... BIG DIFFERENCE! LOL
big laughs at you poor brainwash hezbi follower....
10 October 2013, 19:24
1111
i wonder if they have found anyone else other than Hizbullah and Syrian regime members in these things they are creating.
10 October 2013, 19:44
1013
Momo, you are too funny. Where did I "doubt the report"??? You are clutching at straws.
Here is a direct quote from a report on this:
"According to the STL, Merhi was born on December 12, 1965 and was a resident of the Bourj al-Barajneh area in Beirut’s southern Dahiyeh suburbs."
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/stl-indicts-new-suspect-in-hariri-slaying
10 October 2013, 19:48
1110
Death to nasrallah and his sons!
Death to Bachar and his sons!
10 October 2013, 19:57
109
The STL has evidence that Merhi and other Hezbollah indictees recruited Ahmed Abu Adas, coordinated the video making false claim of responsibility, and disseminated statements falsely attributing responsibility for the attack.
And yet fat rat claims Israel carried out the murder?
So the question becomes, why did Hezbollah create the Abu Adas false claim of responsibility, if Israel carried out the crime???
Were they working together?
10 October 2013, 20:33
97
Direct quote from Hassan Nasrallah......
"We may have created the Abu Adas story, but there is no evidence linking Hezbollah to the murder of Hariri, other than the phone records, witness testimony, and other circumstantial evidence. We merely created the Abu Adas story to create harmony in this country, so that no Lebanese would be falsely accused."
10 October 2013, 21:15
1210
anonymetexasusa: concerning your reply about implicating Nasrallah in the crime that would be Incredible and it would make them lose credibility. However the work is not finished because it wont be finished this Tribunal is made to eat part of the Governments Income Just like Israel wants Lebanon to Be. Full of division, full of pointing at Hizbullah as a terrorist organization, full of expenses, full of corruption and trust me Israel Enjoys it sooooo much to see lebanese conflicting over an international corps and interior matters. But unfortunately you are too narrow minded to even realize that this is just an international Politics game thats because you were raised on mainstream media politics but you haven't worked in any political Organization in Europe. you just watch LBCI and think you are smart.
10 October 2013, 23:11
64
prime... LOL... Addis Ababa University for delinquents, special department of arrogance and know-it-all...
I think the guy is not past 20 though...
10 October 2013, 22:02
106
sure plenty of sweets distributed in dahiye the day he was killed, funny no?
10 October 2013, 23:12
28
HA is not allied with Israel. However HA is the best thing that happened to Israel. He keeps Lebanon unstable and fighting, which suits the racist entity south fine.
10 October 2013, 23:23
65
just ask yourself why israel invaded lebanon in the beginning... and hezbi are just continuing...
10 October 2013, 23:57
44
The only real problem with this tribunal is that it doesn't have the authority to decide to hang Nasrallah on the middle of Sassine square.
11 October 2013, 00:47
63
if you pay any professional 500.000$ a year he would write you 50.000 pages a year especially if you give him details and everything so its obvious that even you who are pro this big lie of tribunal are not fully convinced of the content neither the performance. But good for you you're paying 60 Million dollars a year for such thing if not more knowing that if you had 1% of dignity you would have asked from your government to at least built a TRAM in beirut and fix the wholes that are not sucking up water in winter which would cost 60 Million dollars a year to accomplish and could be accomplished in less than 6 years. But no you want to pay for something that is killing your own brothers in the same Tiny country and spread hatred thats much more lucrative. as for me i do not even care because i dont pay taxes in Lebanon hell i would never even step in lebanon as long as the political mainstream is still the same.
11 October 2013, 05:01
21
Woman-inside-a-man's-body....... you are wrong. The game is called:
Kill your political opponents,
Kill the journalists who speak against you, and
Kill the lead investigators that are not under your control.
11 October 2013, 05:03
21
It only lacks legitimacy in the eyes of the guilty culprits and their supporters
14 October 2013, 12:31
00
peace you're really not a smart person, sorry to say. you can't even understand simple language. trying to explain things to you is a waste of time.
flamecatcher: the israelis acknowledged the footage was from their drones.
