Lebanon Tribunal judge to announce decision on suspects Wednesday

Apr 27, 2009, 18:40 GMT

Beirut - Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is to announce later this week his decision on the fate of the four detained generals suspected in the 2005 assassination of Lebanese former premier Rafik Hariri, the tribunal said Monday in a press statement.

Fransen would announce his decision 'at 2:00 pm Beirut time (1100 GMT) on Wednesday,' after the tribunal's general prosecutor Daniel Bellemare handed down his decision on the fate of the generals to the pre-trial judge, the statement said.

Fransen had issued a ruling asking Bellemare to either justify the need to keep the prisoners in custody or to order their release by April 27.

The four generals are Jamil Sayyed, Ali Hajj, Raymond Azar and Mustafa Hamdan who respectively headed Lebanon's General Security Department, the Internal Security Forces, Military Intelligence and the Presidential Guards Brigade.

The four generals were arrested shortly after Hariri was killed in a car bombing in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

On September 4, 2005, a Lebanese magistrate issued arrest warrants against the four pro-Syrian generals in connection with plotting the assassination.

'Their release does not mean they are innocent and their continued detention does not mean they are guilty,' Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar said.

Najjar said that Bellemare's petition would either recommend the four generals be convicted for the crime or be released according to the files with which the judge was provided.

The general prosecutor would also provide clear justification of his recommendation, so that it 'does not remain a secret,' the justice minster added.

Najjar also said that Fransen would study the general prosecutor's recommendation, but only the latter had the sole authority to make the file verdict. However, Najjar explained that Fransen's decision could be appealed by Bellemare or the suspects.

Hariri was killed in a seaside area of Beirut, along 20 other people. His assassination was widely blamed on Syria and its allies in Lebanon, a charge Damascus has vehemently denied.

A UN special Tribunal was set to try suspects involved in the Hariri killing. The court, which for security reasons meets in the Dutch city of Leidschendam, was set up by the UN security council in 2007 and comprises foreign and Lebanese judges. The names of Lebanese have been withheld in the interest of their safety.

According to a Lebanese judicial source, Fransen is to announce his decision during a press conference. Lebanese State Prosecutor Saeed Mirza will be informed of the court's decision, the source added.