Lebanon to hand over Hariri case to tribunal
Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Tuesday that Judge Saqr Saqr, the Lebanese forensic investigator into the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, received from the Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s office the pre-trial Judge Daniel Fransen’s request asking Lebanese authorities to defer to the tribunal, and submit all investigation reports and suspect names within a two-week deadline.
According to a judicial source, the paper reported that the Lebanese general prosecutor’s office had been organizing all the necessary files for the tribunal since its launching on March 1.
Al-Hayat also said that Lebanese judicial authorities would respond to the request within ten days at most, adding that the file included the testimonies of 424 witnesses, including those of the released suspects and those remaining in custody.
The source added that, with the transfer of the case file, the four generals held on suspicion of being involved in the assassination would be the Interior Ministry’s responsibility, not the Lebanese judicial authorities.