LOC13:20
10:20 GMT
BRUSSELS, Oct 29 (KUNA) -- The Trial Chamber of the Special Tribunal for
Lebanon will hold a pre-trial conference today at the Hague in preparation for
the start of the trial in the case linked with the killing of former Lebanese
Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri case in which four individuals are accused of
being involved.
The pre-trial conference will be open for the public; however, the Trial
Chamber may decide to go into closed session during the course of the
conference if confidential matters need to be discussed, said the STL in a
press release.
It is the first time that the Trial Chamber judges have convened such a
hearing. This comes after the Pre-Trial Chamber completed the transfer of the
entire file of the case so the Trial Chamber can begin its preparation for the
13 January 2014 tentative trial date.
The transfer of the case file marks the start of the transition from the
pre-trial to the trial phase.
The indictment states that the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri
was assassinated on 14 February 2005 in Beirut as a result of a terrorist act
in which a suicide bomber detonated a large quantity of high explosives
concealed in a van. In addition to Hariri, the attack killed 21 people and
injured 226 others.
The indictment accuses four Lebanese, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine
Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra of having
participated in a conspiracy aimed at the assassination of Rafiq Hariri. (end)
nk.aa
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