NEW YORK: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called on authorities in Beirut to respect the decision of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which on Thursday imposed life sentences on two members of Hezbollah for involvement in the 2005 bombing that claimed the life of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.
Hariri was killed on Feb. 14, 2005, by a suicide bomber who targeted his armored convoy on the Beirut waterfront. The blast killed 21 other people and injured 226.
The attack triggered nationwide protests that drove Syrian troops out of Lebanon after almost 30 years of military deployment in the country.
Salim Ayyash was convicted by the STL in 2020 and sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in the assassination, but the tribunal ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict Habib Merhi and Hussein Oneissi. Prosecutors appealed against the acquittal and in March both men were found guilty.
All three men were tried, convicted and sentenced in their absence. They remain at large and are unlikely to serve any time in jail because Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah, does not recognize the authority of the court and refuses to hand them over.
Guterres said his thoughts “are with the victims of the Feb. 14 attack, and their families.” He also expressed his “deep appreciation for the dedication and hard work of the judges and staff involved in this case throughout the years.”
Noting “the independence and impartiality of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon,” he called on Lebanese authorities “to respect the decision of the Tribunal.”
Farhan Haq, a spokesperson for the UN in New York, told Arab News that the organization “welcomed the progress and the work being done by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon and we believe that this is a case where the people of Lebanon deserve justice.”
The STL was established at The Hague in the Netherlands in 2009 in line with a UN Security Council resolution. It eventually tried four suspects in absentia, one of whom, Assad Sabra, was acquitted.
Plagued by political issues in Lebanon, the court announced last year that it would have to close after dealing with outstanding appeals because it was running out of funding. This means the trial of Ayyash in a separate case involving three attacks on Lebanese politicians in 2004 and 2005 is unlikely to take place.
UN chief calls on Lebanon to respect Hague court’s verdict on Hariri killing
https://arab.news/29w5g
UN chief calls on Lebanon to respect Hague court’s verdict on Hariri killing
- Iran-backed Hezbollah refuses to hand over three men convicted of involvement in the 2005 suicide blast that killed former prime minister Rafik Hariri
- The Special Tribunal for Lebanon last year announced that it will have to shut down, after dealing with outstanding appeals, because of lack of funding
Syrian government, Kurds to extend truce: sources to AFP
- No official announcement has yet come from Damascus or SDF, but two sources said truce is to be extended by one month
DAMASCUS: The Syrian government and Kurdish forces have agreed to extend a ceasefire set to expire Saturday, as part of a broader deal on the future of Kurd-majority areas, several sources told AFP.
No official announcement has yet come from Damascus or the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), but two sources said the truce is to be extended by one month.
On Tuesday, Damascus and the SDF agreed to a four-day ceasefire after Kurdish forces relinquished swathes of territory to government forces, which also sent reinforcements to a Kurdish stronghold in the northeast.
A diplomatic source in Damascus told AFP the ceasefire, due to expire on Saturday evening, will be extended “for a period of up to one month at most.”
A Kurdish source close to the negotiations confirmed “the ceasefire has been extended until a mutually acceptable political solution is reached.”
A Syrian official in Damascus said the “agreement is likely to be extended for one month,” adding that one reason is the need to complete the transfer of Daesh group militant detainees from Syria to Iraq.
All sources requested anonymity because they are not allowed to speak to the media.
After the SDF lost large areas to government forces, Washington said it would transfer 7,000 Daesh detainees to prisons in Iraq.
Europeans were among 150 senior IS detainees who were the first to be transferred on Wednesday, two Iraqi security officials told AFP.
The transfer is expected to last several days.
Daesh swept across Syria and Iraq in 2014, but backed by a US-led coalition, the SDF ultimately defeated the group and went on to jail thousands of suspected militants and detain tens of thousands of their relatives.
The truce between Damascus and the Kurds is part of a new understanding over Kurdish-majority areas in Hasakah province, and of a broader deal to integrate the Kurds’ de facto autonomous administration into the state.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s Islamist forces toppled longtime ruler Bashar Assad in 2024.
The new authorities are seeking to extend state control across Syria, resetting international ties including with the United States, now a key ally.
The Kurdish source said the SDF submitted a proposal to Damascus through US envoy Tom Barrack that would have the government managing border crossings — a key Damascus demand.
It also proposes that Damascus would “allocate part of the economic resources — particularly revenue from border crossings and oil — to the Kurdish-majority areas,” the source added.
Earlier this month, the Syrian army recaptured oil fields, including the country’s largest, while advancing against Kurdish forces.
