Hariri Tribunal to proceed with trials in absentia

Tribunal judges investigating the assassination of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri say they will push the trials of four suspects in absentia.

Amsterdam: Judges at the UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri say they will push ahead with the trials of four suspects in absentia.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has indicted four members of the Shiite Muslim Hezbollah group which, along with its allies, now holds a majority in Lebanon`s Cabinet.

Hezbollah denies involvement in Hariri`s killing and has refused to extradite the suspects.

Hariri was killed in a bomb blast that also left 22 others dead.

Judges today rejected defence arguments that trials without the suspects physically present are a violation of human rights and that the accused have not been properly notified of charges against them.

PTI