STL

Bulletin
March 2015
The STL Bulletin provides a monthly overview of the latest judicial developments, news, and visits to the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon. It is one of a number of publications produced by the Tribunal. You can read them all at
http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/media.

Judicial developments
The Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al. (STL-11-01)
On 3 March, Defence counsel for Mr Merhi and
Mr Sabra concluded the cross-examination of Mr
Ghaleb El-Chammaa via video-conference link.1 Mr
El-Chammaa testified about the statement he gave
to the United Nations International Independent
Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) in 2006 and
about his knowledge of payments allegedly made to
Brigadier-General Ghazi Kanaan.2 Mr El-Chammaa
could not confirm such payments, as he did not
deal with them himself. Mr El-Chammaa also gave
evidence based on his previous witness statement to
the UNIIIC regarding the construction works in the
Beirut St. Georges area prior to February 2005. Mr
El-Chammaa confirmed that after the assassination,
many people came to him and provided information
on the construction work there. Mr El-Chammaa did
not verify the details of this information himself, but
1

See Mr El-Chammaas testimony in the month of February at http://

www.stl-tsl.org/en/media/stl-bulletin/stl-bulletin-february-2015.
Mr El-Chammaa was a close friend and business associate of Mr
Rafiq Hariri.

Mr Kanaan was Syrias Interior Minister from 2004-2005 and Chief

of Syrias security apparatus in Lebanon from 1982 to 2002.

told the UNIIIC. Mr El-Chammaa also testified about

his recollection of a commemoration ceremony held
in October 2002, where the former Lebanese Prime
Minister (PM), Mr Rafiq Hariri, honored Mr Ghazi
Kanaan, the former Chief of the Syrian Military Intelligence in Lebanon who was replaced by Mr Rustom
Ghazaleh, by handing him the key to the city of Beirut.
When asked by Defence counsel what this gesture
meant, Mr El-Chammaa responded that Mr Hariri
All the public transcripts in the Ayyash et al case are available on our website in Arabic, English and French.

was dealing with the Syrian presence in Lebanon as

if it was a matter of fact and a reality with which
he had to deal to maintain good relations with Syria.
Counsel for Mr Sabra questioned the witness about
the possibility of Mr Hariri having hired staff from the

www.stl-tsl.org
Dokter van der Stamstraat 1, 2265 BC Leidschendam, Netherlands PO Box 115, 2260 AC Leidschendam, Netherlands.
For more information please contact the Public Information and Communications Section: stl-pressoffice@un.org Tel : +31 (0) 70 800 3560 / 3828 and +961 4 538 100 (Beirut)
www.twitter.com/stlebanonwww.facebook.com/stlebanonwww.youtube.com/stlebanonwww.flickr.com/stlebanon

Al-Ahbash.3 Mr El-Chammaa confirmed that if anyone

associated with Al-Ahbash were in Prime Minister
Hariris security team or entourage, they would have
been dismissed.

On 13 March, the Office of the Prosecutor presented

documentary evidence that was already admitted into
evidence by the Trial Chamber. The documents related
to a large number of mobile phones including 18 phones
associated with nine subscribers creating the so-called
set of green network phones that the Prosecution alleges
were used to direct the attack against PM Hariri. The
Prosecution requested the Lebanese Government to
confirm 51 names attributed to various phone numbers.
Some individuals were identified and interviewed and it
is alleged that their identities were attributed to phone
numbers without their knowledge. In other cases, the
persons whose identities were attributed to phone
numbers simply do not exist.

On 10 March, Dr Ghazi Youssef, a member of the

Lebanese Parliament since 2005, testified before the
Trial Chamber in person. Dr Youssef holds a PhD in
Economics and worked on electoral and economic
issues with Mr Hariri in the years preceding the former
PMs assassination. During his testimony, Dr Youssef
described how the Syrian regime imposed candidates
on the PMs list of candidates for the 2000 legislative
elections and recalled the conditions under which his
own candidacy was rejected by Mr Ghazi Kanaan.
In his testimony, Dr Youssef stated that former PM
Hariri was clearly against the extension of Lebanese
President Lahouds mandate. He also noted the position of the international community at that time,
which, according to the witness, wanted the salvation
of Lebanon through the election of a new president.
In addition, Dr Youssef stated that PM Hariri had
perceived United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
Resolution 1559 as a cause for confrontation between
President Lahoud and the Syrians, on one side, and
the international community, on the other. During
his testimony, he also told the Trial Chamber of a
meeting in which he had participated in December
2004 with Mr Ghassan Salameh, a former Lebanese
Minister of Culture and Advisor to the United Nations
Secretary-General. During that meeting, Mr Salameh
had asked Dr Youssef to warn PM Hariri to be more
cautious about his personal security. Mr Salameh said
to Dr Youssef the Syrians want[ed] his political assassination or otherwise.

Syria. In the recording, Mr Ghazaleh is heard saying

that Mr Hariri used to tell him that Lebanon could not
be ruled without Syrias consent. Prime Minister Hariri
is heard saying that there should be co-ordination
between the two countries, but Lebanon should have
a bigger role in ruling itself. The Taif Agreement was
subsequently discussed between the three men. PM
Hariri could be heard arguing that the implementation
of the Taif Agreement should serve as a basis for Syrian-Lebanese relations. He could also be heard saying
that he will not be opposing the new electoral law if
it would be adopted by the executive power and later
by the legislative power. In the same meeting, former
PM Hariri is also heard discussing with Mr Ghazaleh
the referral of the October 2004 assassination attempt
against the Member of the Lebanese Parliament, Mr
Marwan Hamade, to the Lebanese Judicial Council.
Dr Youssef provided his commentary on the content
of the audio recording by asserting that the purpose
of the meeting was for Mr Ghazaleh to remind Mr
Hariri that he came to power with Syrias consent and
that Lebanon could not be governed and ruled against
Syrias will. When asked to explain why it would be
Mr Ghazaleh who would refer the attempted assassination of Mr Hamade to the Judicial Council, Dr
Youssef responded that the Lebanese Ministers at that
time used to implement orders given by Mr Ghazaleh.

On 11 and 12 March, Dr Youssef continued his testimony. On those two days, he spoke about the new
electoral law introduced in the autumn of 2004 and
Prime Minister Hariris electoral lists for the elections
in 2005. In addition, audio recordings of a meeting
held on 9 January 2005 were played in the courtroom.
Dr Youssef identified the three men who could be
heard in the recording as former PM Hariri, Brigadier-General Rustom Ghazaleh, and Charles Ayoub,
Editor-in-chief of the Lebanese daily Ad-Diyar. In the
lengthy recording, the voice recognized as Mr Ayoub
was heard as saying that he felt PM Hariri had a wish
and will to maintain an excellent relationship with
Syria while the voice that is recognized to be Mr Ghazaleh described Mr Hariri as a dear friend and ally of

On 16 March, Mr Bassem El-Sabeh, Deputy President of the Future Movement and a long-time friend,
confidant, and political ally of Mr Rafiq Hariri, testified before the Trial Chamber. Mr El-Sabeh was an
elected member of the Lebanese Parliament in 1992,
1996, 2000 and 2005. Mr El-Sabehs evidence focused
on certain meetings Mr Hariri held with Syrian officials in 1999, 2003, and 2004, and the developing
ideas that emerged during the Bristol Group meetings,

3 The Al-Ahbash is a religious movement established in the 1980s,

which is also known as the Association of Islamic Charitable
Projects (AICP). It was originally founded by Sheikh Abdullah
Mohammed El-Harari.

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

which he had attended.4 Mr El-Sabeh told the Trial

Chamber that he had accompanied Mr Hariri during
his first meeting with Mr Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus
in 1999, describing a sense of unease and uncertainty
that the former PM had felt after meeting with Mr
Bashar Al-Assad, who would later become the Syrian
President. In particular, the witness recalled PM Hariris words following the 1999 meeting: Syria will be
ruled by a child [] [T]hings will not be comfortable
in the future. Mr El-Sabeh also testified about another
meeting held between PM Hariri and President Bashar
Al-Assad in December 2003. That particular meeting
had been attended by Syrian officials Brigadier-General
Ghazi Kanaan, Lieutenant-General Rustom Ghazaleh,
and Brigadier-General Mohammed Khallouf. Some
specific requests were made to Prime Minister Hariri
relating to the extension of the mandate of President
Lahoud, the Premiers shares in An Nahar newspaper
and his advisor on patriarchal affairs and his ties with
the opposition (Qornet Shehwan). PM Hariri had
then informed Mr El-Sabeh of the accusations against
him and the overall feeling of insult he felt during
that meeting. Mr El-Sabeh subsequently discussed
the meeting held between PM Hariri and President
Al-Assad in August 2004. According to the witness,
Mr Rafiq Hariri had interpreted President Al-Assads
comments during the meeting as clear instructions to
Mr Hariri regarding the extension of Lebanese President Lahouds term. Mr El-Sabeh then spoke about
former PM Hariris decision to, on the one hand,
support the extension of President Lahouds mandate,
and, on the other hand, become part of the opposition through the Bristol Group. The Bristol Group was
considered at that time to constitute a form of national
reconciliation project which had aimed to reject the
Syrian presence in Lebanon and request a strong,
democratic parliamentary system in the country.

Hariri expressed his position towards the upcoming

elections and sent a clear political message to support
the opposition. Commenting on a picture of Mr Hariri
and himself in the Parliament on the day of former
PMs assassination, Mr El-Sabeh said that Mr Hariri
had sought to show up at the Parliamentary session
with a big smile to prove to his opponents that his bloc
was at ease. When asked by Judge Lettieri about the
role of the Hezbollah in the political discussions with
PM Hariri, Mr El-Sabeh said that Hezbollah had not
been at the forefront of the political confrontation with
PM Hariri at the time; rather, they had been engaged
in a dialogue, the witness testified.
On 17, 18 and 19 March, Mr El-Sabeh was cross-examined by the Defence counsel for Mr Sabra. The Defence
mainly focused on Mr Rafiq Hariris relationship with
former President Lahoud and Mr El-Sabehs knowledge
of Al-Ahbash and its link to the Syrian-Lebanese security apparatus. Mr El-Sabeh was also asked to provide
additional information about the media campaign that
had allegedly been organised by President Lahoud and
Mr Jamil El Sayed, the Director-General of General
Security in Lebanon, against Mr Hariri in 2004 to
prevent his victory at the upcoming elections.
On 20 March, the cross-examination of Dr Youssef,
who had initially testified before the Trial Chamber
in the week commencing 9 March, was concluded by
the Defence counsel for Mr Ayyash, Mr Badreddine
and Mr Sabra. After the conclusion of the cross-examination, the Trial Chamber heard further submissions
by the parties in relation to a motion filed by Counsel
for Mr Sabra on 8 January 2015 requesting the Trial
Chamber to make a finding of non-compliance to the
Government of Lebanon.
Mr Fouad Siniora, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon,
testified before the Trial Chamber in person from 23
until 26 March. Mr Siniora was a long-time friend
and political ally of Mr Rafiq Hariri. He had served as
Minister in each of Mr Hariris cabinets from 1992 to
2004 before becoming PM from 2005 until 2009.

On 17 March, Mr El-Sabeh continued his testimony.

He was asked to provide specific comments on a press
article published in the Lebanese daily Al-Mustaqbal
on 3 February 2005, which in part reported the results
of what had occurred during the third Bristol Group
meeting. The witness explained that the opposition
represented at the Bristol Group had been supportive of
international resolutions, including UNSC Resolution
1559. Mr El-Sabeh also stated that UNSC Resolution
1559 had created a crisis between the Lebanese government and the UNSC. Mr El-Sabeh then commented
on a video of an event held at the Maronite archbishopric on 10 February 2005. After the meeting, PM
4

In his testimony on 23 March, Mr Siniora described Mr

Hariris relationship with the Syrian regime during the
Presidencies of Hafez Al-Assad and Bashar Al-Assad,
and the formation of Mr Hariris third cabinet in 1997.
Mr Siniora testified that Mr Hariri had considered the
Syrian Intelligence Services interference in the cabinet
formation process in Lebanon unacceptable.
On 24 March, Mr Siniora told the Trial Chamber
about an event that had happened in either late 2003
or early 2004, during which Mr Hariri said that he

The Bristol group consisted of Mr Hariris allies who were opposed

to the extension of the mandate of the former President Emile
Lahoud.

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

had been the target of several assassination attempts by

Hezbollah.

arrest of four Lebanese Generals5 following Mr Hariris

assassination and his knowledge of President Lahouds
security arrangements during his Presidency.

Mr Siniora was then questioned by the Legal Representative of the Victims (LRV). The LRV asked the
witness about the importance of the establishment of
the Special Tribunal for the victims, his role as PM in
the creation of the STL and the atmosphere in Lebanon
following the 14 February 2005 attack.

Mr Siniora denied any knowledge of a meeting

described in a leaked American diplomatic cable
between the then Justice Minister Charles Rizk and the
then US Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffery Feltman, in
which both men had discussed the legal maneuvering
required to deflect the blame from Mr Sinioras government should the Generals be released. Mr Siniora was
then asked by Defence counsel whether he was aware of
the alleged arbitrary nature of the detention of the four
Generals and whether he had taken practical measures
to bring about their release, especially after the United
Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights issued a memorandum in November 2007
which declared the detention of two of the Generals
as arbitrary. In response, Mr Siniora told the court that
some indeed thought their detention had been arbitrary, but he was relying on the opinion of the Lebanese judiciary, which had ordered their arrest.

Mr Siniora was cross-examined by the Defence for

Mr Badreddine, Mr Oneissi, Mr Sabra and Mr Merhi
from 24 to 26 March. The Defence asked about
Mr Hariris development projects in Downtown Beirut,
Mr Hariris meetings with Hezbollah representatives
and the establishment of the Special Tribunal. With
regard to the Special Tribunal, Mr Siniora denied the
assertion by the Defence that he had used it as a tool
to achieve a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon in his
contacts with influential States such as the US, France,
the UK, Russia and China.
Mr Siniora also testified that the decision to transfer
certain telecommunications data to the UNIIIC had
been taken by Mr Marwan Hamade, the Minister of
Telecommunications at that time with the knowledge of the Cabinet. In addition, Mr Siniora was
questioned about the supervision of the crime scene
of the 14 February 2005 attack and allegations that
the SyrianLebanese security apparatus had tampered
with it, the possible tapping of Mr Hariris phones,
Mr Hariris access to security-related documents, the

On 26 March, Mr Sinioras cross-examination was

adjourned. He will return to complete his testimony
at a later date.
5

The four Generals (Ali Al-Hajj, Raymond Azar, Jamil El Sayed and
Mustafa Hamdan) were detained by the Lebanese authorities from
30 August 2005 till 29 April 2009 in connection with the Hariri
case. The Pre-Trial Judge ordered their immediate release on 29
April 2009 detained by the Lebanese authorities from 30 August
2005 till 29 April 2009 in connection with the Hariri case. The PreTrial Judge ordered their immediate release on 29 April 2009.

In the Contempt Case against AL JADEED [CO.] S.A.L./NEW T.V. S.A.L (N.T.V.)
and Ms Karma Mohamed Tahsin Al Khayat (STL-14-05)
On 4 March 2015, the Contempt Judge, Judge
Nicola Lettieri, granted the Amicus Curiae Prosecutors (Amicus) motion and admitted into evidence
the audio-visual recording and written transcript of
MsKhayats suspect interview.

protected from disclosure and that their testimony be

heard in closed session. On 30 March, the Defence
responded that they did not oppose the use of pseudonyms for the three witnesses and that identifying information related to these witnesses be redacted from
public documents. The Defence, however, opposed
the Amicus request for the witnesses to provide their
testimony in closed session arguing that there are no
proper grounds to justify such testimony.

On 12 March, the Contempt Judge issued a decision,

allowing the Amicus to amend the witness and exhibit
lists. The Contempt Judge dismissed the Amicus
motion and the motions addendum in all other
respects.

On 25 March, the Amicus requested the Contempt

Judge to order the redaction from its exhibits all
names, email addresses or other internet accounts
and telephone numbers of actual or former STL
employees. He also sought the redaction of all names
and signatures of persons employed by the Tribunal
with the exception of those whom the Amicus intends
to call to testify and the names of senior STL officials

On 13 March, the Amicus submitted on behalf of

the parties a table of agreed facts, listing 22 facts
related to the indictment which the Amicus and
the Defence agreed may be taken as proven. On 20
March, the Amicus applied for protective measures for
three witnesses and requested that their identities be

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

who are public figures and whose involvement in these

matters is known or reasonably presumed. The Amicus
further requested the redaction of all names and signatures of persons employed by the Tribunal appearing
on witness statements and the transcripts of suspect
interviews.

all identifying information of these alleged witnesses

be mentioned in closed session and redacted from
public records;
all identifying information of the alleged confidential Tribunals witnesses be redacted from Al Akhbars
articles of 15 and 19 January 2013 and the Lebanese
National News Agency article.

The Amicus also requested that:

all parts of the Al Jadeed broadcasts of 5 to 10
August 2012, during which the identities of
purported witnesses are exposed, to be played in
closed session and be redacted from the transcripts
of these broadcasts;

In order to facilitate the proper administration of the

contempt trial which is due to start on 16 April 2015,
on 26 March the Contempt Judge gave detailed directions on the conduct of the proceedings in accordance
with Rule130 A) of the Tribunals Rules of Procedure
and Evidence (RPE).

In the Contempt Case against Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. and

Mr Ibrahim Mohamed Ali Al Amin (STL-14-06)
On 5 March 2015, the Amicus filed his pre-trial brief
(PTB), together with the witness and exhibit lists in
the case against Akhbar Beirut S.A.L. (Akhbar) and
Ibrahim Mohamed Ali Al Amin. In his PTB, the
Amicus argued that by publishing identifying information on purported confidential witnesses in the
Ayyash et al. case, the Accused committed contempt
and obstruction of justice, punishable under
Rule 60 bis (A) of the RPE.

request for appeal. On 17 March, the Amicus filed the

response to the Defence motion requesting disclosure of the Amicus confidential and ex parte reports
referred to in the Decision of 31 January 2014. The
Amicus requested that the Contempt Judge dismiss the
Defence motion.
On 20 March, the Contempt Judge granted the Amicus
confidential application for non-disclosure filed on 19
February 2015 (first motion). In this respect, Judge
Lettieri permitted the Amicus:

On the same day, pursuant to Rules 149 and 155 of

the RPE, the Amicus requested the Contempt Judge to
admit into evidence the statements of four witnesses in
lieu of viva voce testimony and the associated exhibits.

to withhold from the Defence the identities of the

witnesses identified in the respective annex to the
first motion until further order; and

On 9 March, counsel appointed to represent Akhbar

and Mr Al Amin responded to the Amicus motion,
filed on 27 February 2015, seeking permanent non-disclosure of parts of the statements of two witnesses to
the Defence and the interim non-disclosure of these
witnesses identities to the Defence. The Defence
requested the Contempt Judge to dismiss the Amicus
motion in all points and grant the Defence a reasonable time to prepare its case following the Prosecutions
disclosure pursuant to Rule 110 of the RPE.

to redact the statements of the said witnesses as

proposed in the respective annex.
The Contempt Judge dismissed the first motion in
all other respects.
The Contempt Judge further granted the Amicus
application for non-disclosure of portions of witness
statements and postponement of disclosure, filed on
the 27 February 2015 (second motion). He ordered
that the Amicus was permitted:

On the same day, counsel requested the Contempt

Judge to order the Amicus to disclose to the Defence
the Amicus confidential and ex parte reports referred
to in the Decision of 31 January 2014 which would
be useful for the preparation of the defence case.
The Defence further requested the Contempt Judge
to order the Amicus to review the reclassification of
all confidential and ex parte documents, as soon as
possible. In the event that the request is denied, the
Defence requested the Contempt Judge to certify the

to permanently withhold from the Defence certain

parts of the statements of the two witnesses referred
to in the second motion
to permanently redact these parts of the statements
of the witnesses as proposed in the respective confidential and ex parte annex to the second motion;

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

 to withhold from the Defence the identities of the

two witnesses referred to in the second motion until
further order;
to further redact the statements of these witnesses as
proposed in the respective confidential and ex parte
annex to the second motion until further order;
The Amicus was ordered to provide the redacted statements of the two witnesses to the Defence immediately.
The Contempt Judge dismissed the second motion in
all other respects.
On 23 March, counsel appointed to represent Akhbar
and Mr Al Amin responded to the Amicus motion for
Admission of Written Statements under Rule 155 of

the RPE, which sought the admission of four witness

statements in lieu of their oral testimony. Counsel
requested the Contempt Judge to reject the Amicus
motion or, alternatively, to grant the Defence the
possibility to cross-examine these four witnesses.
On 30 March, counsel for Akhbar and Mr Al Amin
filed its PTB, in which it argues, as a preliminary
matter, that the statements of many key Prosecution
witnesses have still not been disclosed to it in non-redacted form which hinders its preparations before
trial. The Defence also argues that the Prosecution has
not disclosed any evidence to support the contempt
charge brought against both the Accused under
Rule 60 bis (A).

News and Visits

On 28 February, the STL submitted its sixth annual
report to the United Nations Secretary-General and
to the Government of Lebanon. The report details the
Tribunals activities, achievements and challenges over
the period 1 March 2014-28 February 2015 and its
objectives in the coming reporting year.
The full report can be found on the Tribunals website.
On 25 March, the STL hosted a group of visitors from
the Maghreb/Mashreq working group of the European Union (MaMa) with the assistance of the Dutch

Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The visitors were briefed

by the President, Prosecutor, Head of the Defence
Office and the Registrar on the work of their respective Organ.
In March, the STL hosted groups of visitors from
Vives University in Belgium, the Center for Transnational Legal Studies in the US, LHaute Ecole des
Avocats Conseils based in Versailles, France and the
Luiss Guido Carli University of Rome.

www.stl-tsl.org
Dokter van der Stamstraat 1, 2265 BC Leidschendam, Netherlands PO Box 115, 2260 AC Leidschendam, Netherlands.
For more information please contact the Public Information and Communications Section: stl-pressoffice@un.org Tel : +31 (0) 70 800 3560 / 3828 and +961 4 538 100 (Beirut)
www.twitter.com/stlebanonwww.facebook.com/stlebanonwww.youtube.com/stlebanonwww.flickr.com/stlebanon