LOC01:32
22:32 GMT
BRUSSELS, Feb 25 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Thursday extended the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's (STL) mandate from 1 March 2021 for a further period of two years, the STL said in a press release this evening.
In his statement, the UN SG reaffirmed the commitment of the United Nations to support the STL in the fight against impunity for the crimes under its jurisdiction, in order to bring those responsible to justice, it said.
"I am grateful for the international community's continued support towards the STL's work, which serves as a strong global message that terrorist crimes will not go unpunished. Together with my colleagues at the Tribunal, I remain highly committed to fulfilling the STL's mandate in a timely manner and render justice to the victims through fair and transparent proceedings'' said STL President Judge Ivana Hrdlickova.
STL's primary mandate is to hold trials for the people accused of carrying out the attack in Lebanon of 14 February 2005 which killed 22 people, including the former prime minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, and injured many others.
The STL was inaugurated on 1 March 2009 and is situated outside the Dutch city of The Hague. (end)
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