Lebanon court: There is enough evidence for a Hariri trial

Comes after UN backed tribunal issued warrants in June for four men wanted in assassination, all of which have links to Hezbollah.

By REUTERS
Rafik Hariri billboards 311 R (photo credit: Ali Hashisho / Reuters)
Rafik Hariri billboards 311 R
(photo credit: Ali Hashisho / Reuters)
AMSTERDAM - The UN-backed Lebanon court ruled on Wednesday there is enough evidence for a trial over the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Hague issued arrest warrants in June for four men wanted over the assassination, but the full indictment was not made public.
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So far none of the four men accused has been detained, though Lebanese authorities reported earlier this month measures taken to track them down.
The tribunal released their names, photographs and details last month in the hope of speeding up the arrests.
It named the suspects as Mustafa Amine Badreddine, a senior Hezbollah figure and brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, as well as Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra.
Hezbollah, both a political movement and guerrilla army, denies any role in the huge explosion in Beirut which killed Hariri, a Sunni Muslim who served several terms as prime minister, and 21 others, in February 2005.
Hezbollah's leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, has dismissed the indictments as a failed attempt to sow strife and bring down Lebanon's new Hezbollah-backed government, and has said the authorities would never arrest members of the group.
The tribunal said the Lebanese Prosecutor General had submitted his report on Tuesday, adding that Lebanon's obligation "to arrest, detain and transfer the accused continues."