Bellemare Spokeswoman: Amendment of Indictment Based on Course Investigation Had Taken

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon prosecutor’s spokeswoman, Sophie Boutaud de la Combe, stated on Wednesday that the new elements added by Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare to the indictment in the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri does not mean that what had initially been sent was not good or sufficient.

She told al-Balad newspaper in remarks to be published on Thursday that Bellemare took the decision based on the course the investigation had taken and not at a request by Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen.

These new elements were added because they simply weren’t available earlier and the amendment has nothing to do with the developments in Lebanon and the region, she continued.

She added that the investigation will continue its fieldwork even if the pre-trial judge was examining what had been previously submitted to him and therefore the timing of the amendment is only linked to recently discovered evidence, she added.

Bellemare submitted amended indictments to Pre-Trial Judge Fransen on March 11 and May 6.