Leidschendam: A panel of judges
at a UN-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of
former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri will consider
whether to stage a trial in absentia for four Hezbollah
members accused in the slaying.
The suspects were indicted earlier this year, but
Hezbollah has refused to arrest them and send them for trial
in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's purpose-built courtroom.
The court said in a statement today that a pretrial judge
preparing the case has asked trial judges "to determine
whether proceedings in absentia should be initiated" against
the four men.
Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah denies
involvement in the February 14, 2005, truck bombing that
killed Hariri and 22 others, including the suicide bomber, in
Beirut.
PTI
First Published: Monday, October 17, 2011, 23:07