Marten Youssef Says Defense Office Can Find New Suspects in Hariri Murder

Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokesman Marten Youssef said on Tuesday that the defense office can contradict the claims of the prosecution in 2012, stressing that the Lebanese authorities are obliged to cooperate with the lawyers.

Youssef revealed in an interview with the Kuwaiti al-Seyassah newspaper, that the prosecutor’s office provided the defense office with 28,000 pages on the investigations in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s murder and related crimes.

“The defense can contradict the evidence of the prosecution to acquit the defendants, and can look for new scenarios and new suspects,” he stated.

Youssef pointed out that the Lebanese authorities are obliged to “cooperate with the defense office lawyers.”

He hailed the Lebanese government for its cooperation with the STL, noting that it has committed to its tasks.

“The STL receives on the 19th of every month a (detailed) report” by General Prosecutor Saeed Mirza, explaining the exerted efforts to detain the four accused Hizbullah members.

The tribunal announced in February 2011 that it will try the four men indicted in the assassination of Hariri and 21 others in a massive suicide car bomb blast in 2005.

The STL sent arrest warrants for Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra to Lebanese authorities on June 30, and Interpol issued a "red notice" in July.

Youssef told the daily that prosecutor Norman Farrel is entitled to issue a new indictment or “modify the already issued one.”

Asked about attempts to “ruin the tribunal’s reputation,” the spokesman stated that the STL isn’t Hizbullah’s “enemy” and isn’t trying to target the party.

“The prosecution didn’t accuse a group or a party, but indicted four members in person,” Youssef noted.

He stressed that the “suspects remain innocent until proven guilty.”

According to media reports, the trials are expected to kick off at the end of 2012.