Prosecution in Hariri case starts presenting evidence

The Prosecution at the Special tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Wednesday started presenting evidence in the assassination case of former Lebanse Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri before the Trial Chamber.This follows the opening statements by the Prosecution, the Legal Representatives for the Victims, and counsel for two of the accused. Badreddine and. Oneissi, said a press release of the STL which is based Leidschendam, outside the Dutch city of the Hague.Salim Jamil Ayyash, Mustafa Amine Badreddine, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra stand accused of various crimes under Article 2 of the STL Statute and the Lebanese Criminal Code for their alleged role as co-conspirators in the 14 February 2005 attack that killed 22 individuals, including Hariri, and injured 226 others, it noted.The Prosecution will present the case in three parts. The first part, which opened today, concerns the events of 14 February 2005 while the second and third sections relate to telecommunications evidence. In the next few days, seven witnesses will testify in person and one via video teleconference. The written statements of 23 witnesses have been admitted as evidence thus far. All trial hearings which opened on 16 January are open to the public, but the Trial Chamber may decide to go into closed session if confidential matters need to be discussed, added the press release.