Lebanese Journalists Attend Seminar on STL, Int'l Criminal Proceedings

Twenty-four journalists from Lebanese and Pan-Arab media have attended a two-day seminar at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in the Netherlands.

The seminar was held on 13 and 14 February 2018 and aimed at briefing the journalists on the latest developments in the work of the Tribunal and responding to questions they may have.

The Tribunal’s President, Prosecutor, Head of the Defense Office and Registrar as well as senior officials of their respective organs addressed various topics including the current and upcoming stages of the proceedings, the work of the Chambers and STL Judges, the Judicial and Administrative support system, the Victims’ case before the STL and the Defense teams’ work.

The journalists participated in two panel discussions on the challenges they face professionally in reporting on international criminal proceedings and received briefings by representatives of the International Criminal Court, the U.N. Mechanism for the International Criminal Tribunals and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers on the latest developments in their respective institutions.

Bassam Abou Zeid from LBCI said: “This kind of seminar is very important because it sheds light again on the work of the Tribunal and informs us of the latest developments of the case that is sometimes forgotten by the Lebanese people. The Tribunal is still doing its work; this case is very important to the Lebanese people and light must be shed on it.”

Ehab El Okadi from Al-Jazeera added: “The seminar is important for many reasons, but the main reason is that the Tribunal is preparing for a new phase, namely the Defense submitting its case before the Trial Chamber, the judgment that will follow, and the new indictment. This is why it is very important to shed light on the latest developments.”