Special Tribunal for Lebanon registrar quits

David Tolbert, Registrar of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon resigned effective March 1, and will return to the United States to assume his new position as President of the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that he regrets that the Registrar of the United Nations-backed tribunal set up to try the perpetrators of political killings in Lebanon is stepping down, but congratulated him on his appointment as the head of an organization focusing on transitional justice.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, the Secretary-General expressed his deep gratitude for the work of Mr. Tolbert, who took up his duties at the Tribunal last August.
“During Mr. Tolbert’s tenure as the Registrar, the Special Tribunal has made excellent progress, and the Registry is an efficient and fully functioning office which is ready to support the judicial activities of the Special Tribunal,” the statement said.
“His achievements include ensuring that the administrative infrastructure is in place to support future judicial activities, including key measures such as for witness protection and court management,” it added. UN
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STL president to visit Lebanon to complete Hariri probe

Justice Minster Ibrahim Najjar has revealed that Antonio Cassese, president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon ( STL) will be visiting Lebanon in the coming weeks to complete the investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
He noted in an interview with “MTV” that the Lebanese files and documents on this case have been transferred to the custody of the Tribunal after they were translated

Sayyed ready to withdraw his Syrian lawsuit

Former head of the General Security Department Maj. Gen. Jamil al-Sayyed told OTV that he is ready to withdraw the lawsuit that he filed in Damascus against Lebanese officials if either President Michel Suleiman or PM Saad Hariri invited him for talks.
His intention he said is “to preserve Lebanese-Lebanese consensus and Lebanese-Syrian rapprochement.”
Sayyed also said that he felt it would be appropriate to withdraw the lawsuit after Hariri’s visit to Damascus last month, but said people would think that he backed down under Syrian pressure
Sayyed warned Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar that he would sue him “if he continued to obstruct the Syrian judicial summons”
Sayyed along with 3 other generals were suspects in the murder of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, but were released from jail last June for insufficient evidence

Jumblatt refused to comment on Hariri’s visit to Syria

PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt refused to comment on Lebanese PM Saad Hariri’s visit to Syria and prefers to wait until the results of trials of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon ( STL) . He said in the end he will be able to go to Syria with all the files the ” harmonious and controversial”. “The issue of the assassinations starting with the attempted assassination of Marwan Hamadah , to the assassination of ( Lebanon former PM ) Rafik Hariri are still in the hands of the STL and we are all waiting for the outcome of the Court, and we can not get ahead of ourselves on the court” he told reporters during a visit to Iqleem al Kharoub

Hariri in Syria today for first time since his Dad was assassinated

It is official. Prime minister Saad Hariri announced in a statement that he will visit Damascus on Saturday to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to Al Manar TV , Hariri is expected to arrive in Damascus at 3 pm Saturday and return to Beirut Sunday morning.
This is the first time he visits Syria since his father former PM Rafik Hariri was assassinated in 2005. Syria was accused of being behind Hariri’s murder.
Hariri was expected to visit Damascus last Sunday, but the visit was postponed due to the many questions raised by countries sponsoring the reconciliation efforts over the Syrian warrants against a number of Lebanese officials.
In Lebanon there are a lot of expectations from this visit since there are many pending issues between Lebanon and Syria that need to be resolved and quickly such as the missing Lebanese and those in Syria jails , the demarcation of the borders , the Shebaa farms issue and the smuggling of arms from Syria too Lebanon . The most recent issue is the Syrian warrants against Lebanese officials which Hariri called a “mistake”

Source: Reuters
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Update : Prime Minister Saad Hariri arrived in Damascus minutes after 3 PM for official talks with Syrian President Bashar Assad . He was accompanied only by his adviser Nader Hariri only . He will be meeting with president Assad at 4 Pm . President Assad is expected to host a state dinner in Hariri’s honor at 6 pm according to LBC
Update : Two planes carrying the media delegation that will accompany Prime Minister Saad Hariri during his first visit to Syria landed at Damascus airport.

STL requests fingerprints of all Lebanese nationals

The Lebanese authorities approved Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Prosecutor General Daniel Bellemare’s request to provide him with “the fingerprints of all Lebanese nationals,” Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida has reported Friday.
This action could be related to a report published last May by the German magazine der Spiegel which revealed that Hezbollah is behind the assassination of Lebanon’s former PM Rafik Hariri who was killed in 2005

UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Interpol sign an agreement

The UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon and Interpol reached a “more comprehensive agreement” on information sharing, the UN tribunal announced in a statement on Thursday.
The new agreement gives the UN tribunal access to Interpol’s databases and information system, said the statement. This agreement which was signed by STL President Antonio Cassese and INTERPOL Secretary-General Ronald Noble, is a more comprehensive cooperation agreement replacing the Interim Agreement which entered into force on Aug. 24, the statement added.
Meanwhile, the UN tribunal also announced the opening of its “Outreach Office” in Monteverde, east of the Lebanese capital.
The UN special tribunal was established on March 1, 2009 to try suspects that planned, facilitated and executed the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. He was killed along with 22 others in a suicide bombing in Beirut on Feb. 14, 2005. Xinhua

MP Hamadeh critcizes Syrian judicial system calls it a ’scam’

Democratic Gathering bloc MP and former minister Marwan Hamadeh told Voice of Lebanon radio station on Sunday that he is concerned about Lebanon as a whole, not the failure or success of its cabinet. He is concerned that Israel could strike a regional or international deal at the expense of Lebanon . He is also concerned that the Lebanese people will increase divisions among themselves through the use of arms .
Hamadeh , who miraculously survived an assassination attempt in 2004 for which Syria was blamed criticized the Syrian judicial system, calling it a scam.
He was referring to the warrants issued to 25 key Lebanese officials by a Syrian court in the case of the lawsuit by former General Security Director Jamil As-Sayyed
Sayyed who was one of the suspects in the assassination of former PM Rafik Hariri was released from jail last June for lack of insufficient evidence

Syria is setting tough conditions for hosting Jumblatt

According to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Anbaa sources Syria would not host PSP leader MP Walid Jumblatt unless he makes a public apology on February 14,the day marking the 5th anniversary of the assassination of his friend former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
Following the apology Syria reportedly wants Jumblatt to visit his foe , former President Emile Lahoud, whom Jumblatt despises immedsely
Syria reportedly has a long list of demands for Jumblatt but most of them have already been implemented.
According to local observers such demands by Syria are humiliating for the Lebanese leader who after all led the Cedar Revolution, for which he should never be apologetic

Hariri- Whoever assassinated all martyrs aimed at assassinating freedom in Lebanon

PM Saad Hariri told “MTV”: Whoever assassinated Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and President Rene Moawad and other martyrs aimed at assassinating freedom in Lebanon