Progress in UN probe into Hariri murder: prosecutor



BEIRUT - A UN court created to try the killers of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri has seen a "surge" in progress, the court prosecutor said Wednesday.
"Yes, we've made progress, but I can't give any particulars," prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said in an interview aired on Future News, a television channel owned by the Hariri family.
Bellemare denied reports that he had gathered enough evidence to issue an indictment for the February 14, 2005 bombing which killed Hariri and 22 others.



Progress in UN probe into Hariri murder: prosecutor
"It was reported that I had a full file, that I was ready to move an indictment. We have information, but we are not ready to file an indictment. "Now what I have to satisfy myself is that the evidence that we have now is evidence that is admissible in court according to international standards that are contained now in the rules of procedure," Bellemare said.
The UN Security Council set up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2007 to investigate the Hariri murder and a chain of assassinations targeting anti-Syrian figures and military officials between 2005 and 2007.
The tribunal, based in The Hague, started its work on March 1, 2009.
The Hariri murder was widely blamed on Syria, which withdrew its troops from Lebanon in April 2005 after a 29-year military presence, but Damascus has consistently denied involvement.
The tribunal has no suspects in custody since it ordered the release in April of four pro-Syrian generals held by Lebanon for nearly four years without charge.
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Thursday, September 17th 2009
AFP
           


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