BRUSSELS, Jan 22 (KUNA) -- The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Tuesday condemned recent media reports claiming to reveal the identities of individuals who may be called to testify before the STL as witnesses.
"The Tribunal denounces in the strongest possible terms any attempts at witness intimidation. Publicly identifying individuals as potential STL witnesses may endanger these individuals whether or not they are linked to the Tribunal," it said in a statement.
"Given these security concerns, the STL will not confirm whether the content of the news reports is accurate or not," it noted.
The Tribunal warned that persons who disclose confidential information from the STL may be in direct contravention of judicial orders and be subject to judicial proceed.
The Lebanese newspaper al-Akhbar recently published a list of people it claimed to be witnesses at the STL.
The STL's headquarters are on the outskirts of The Hague, the Netherlands and the tribunal also has an office in Beirut, Lebanon.
Its primary mandate is to hold trials for the people accused of carrying out the attack of February 14, 2005, which killed 23 people, including the former prime minister Rafiq Hariri and injured many others. (end) nk.hb KUNA 221632 Jan 13NNNN