STL President Says Absence of Defendants Won't Obstruct Justice

President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Judge Ivana Hrdlickovca stressed on Tuesday that justice shall be served in the assassination case of ex-PM Rafik Hariri, pointing out that the defendants' absence from the proceedings will not thwart the tribunal's goal.

“The court will not allow defendants to obstruct the achievement of justice through their absence,” Hrdlickovca said in opening remarks for an ad hoc colloquium in The Hague.

She added: “The Special Tribunal is not only a court for Lebanon, but a court of many precedents. It is the first court to try crimes in the Middle East and the first to prosecute terrorist crimes in peacetimes.”

Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a massive and shocking suicide bombing in 2005 that destabilized the country.

Five Hizbullah suspects are being tried in absentia by The Hague-based STL over the attack.