Hezbollah leader says no evidence in Hariri indictment, probe ‘unprofessional’

Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said an indictment implicating four members of his militant group in the killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq al-Hariri contained “no direct evidence” against them and was based only on assumptions.

Mr. Nasrallah added that the probe leading up to the indictment of his members was “unprofessional” and part of a conspiracy to weaken the “resistance.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon earlier on Wednesday said that the pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen had “found the prosecution presented sufficient evidence on a prima facie basis to proceed to trial” in connection with the car bombing in February 14, 2005, which killed Hariri and 22 others.

“The pre-trial judge has ordered that his decision confirming the indictment related to the February 14, 2005 attack, as well as the indictment itself, be made public,” the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said, in order to “proceed to trial.”

The publication Wednesday comes after the tribunal said last week that Lebanese authorities had been unable to arrest the four suspects or serve them with their indictments, according to The Associated Press.

They are accused of detonating the truck bomb on February 14, 2005, that killed Mr. Hariri and 22 others – a number that includes a suicide bomber.

Former Lebanese premier Saad Hariri urged Hezbollah to turn over four of its members indicted by the UN tribunal for the murder of his father.

“I hope ... Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will make a historic decision ... and announce his full cooperation with the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to ensure those accused of the murder are handed over for a fair trail,” Mr. Hariri said in a statement released shortly after the court unsealed its indictment and reported by AFP.

“Hezbollah must announce that it has severed all ties with those accused.”

STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare, in a separate statement, welcomed making the indictment public.

“This Order will finally inform the public and the victims about the facts alleged in the indictment regarding the commission of the crime that led to charging the four accused,” Mr. Bellemare said. “This unsealing of the indictment answers many questions about the 14 February 2005 attack. The full story will however only unfold in the courtroom, where an open, public, fair and transparent trial will render a final verdict.”

Lebanon’s Shiite armed group Hezbollah has denied involvement in the assassination and said it will never turn over the suspects.

Judge Daniel Fransen last month ordered confidentiality around the names and charges against Salim Ayyash, 47, Mustafa Badreddine, 50, Hussein Anaissi, 37 and Assad Sabra, 34, be partially dropped.

Ayyash and Badreddine face charges of “committing a terrorist act by means of an explosive device” and homicide, while Anaissi and Sabra faced charges of conspiring to commit the same acts.