MP Marwan Hamadeh has revealed that Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare could refer a “unified” indictment to the pre-trial judge before the end of his mandate.

In remarks to Future News on Wednesday, Hamadeh said the court has informed him that the indictment in the assassination attempt against him on Oct. 2004 and ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s Feb. 2005 murder “will be unified and will be referred before Bellemare quits his mission for health reasons.”

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Judges are meeting on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss amendments to the court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the STL said.

“The Judges of the STL are meeting today and tomorrow to discuss a number of proposed amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, as well as other issues relating to the work of the Tribunal,” the STL said in a terse statement.

Sources close to Prime Minister Najib Miqati have denied that the PM’s visit to Paris this week is a “prize” for his decision to fund the controversial Special Tribunal for Lebanon that will try ex-Premier Rafik Hariri’s suspected assassins.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Tuesday, the sources said Miqati rejects for his visit to be described as a “prize” over his decision in November to pay Lebanon’s share to the STL through the Higher Relief Council.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is scheduled to head to France on Friday, but he seeking to avoid bringing a ministerial delegation along with him, reported the pan-Arab daily al-Hayat on Monday.

Ministerial sources explained that the premier’s decision is linked to Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour’s insistence on attending Miqati’s meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokesman Marten Youssef expected the trials in absentia to kick off at the end of 2012, according to al-Liwaa newspaper on Monday.

Youssef revealed that the date will be set in April by Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen, urging the four suspects to appear before the court.

Free Patriotic Movement leader MP Michel Aoun denied that he was obstructing government activity, accusing Prime Minister Najib Miqati of abusing his power when he decided to suspend cabinet sessions.

The MP told As Safir newspaper in remarks published on Monday: “The president and prime minister are taking turns in confronting me … we will not be blackmailed or intimidated … and I will topple the government at the appropriate time.”

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Judge Daniel Bellemare held a “secret meeting” with the head of the Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc MP Fouad Saniora during the former’s latest visit to Beirut, reported Kuwait’s An Nahar newspaper on Sunday.

High-ranking political sources told the newspaper that Bellemare was confident in the evidence he had acquired in the case of the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, revealing that he will complete the second indictment in the case before the end of February.

The Head of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Defense Office Francois Roux assigned permanent counsel to the four accused in the case Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al., announced the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in a press release on Friday.

The Trial Chamber decided that the accused will be tried in absentia and on Wednesday Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen requested the assignment of counsel, it added.

The Trial Chamber of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has decided to try the four men accused in the 2005 assassination of ex-premier Rafik Hariri in absentia, the STL said on Wednesday in a statement.

“The Trial Chamber examined numerous documents from the Tribunal's Prosecutor (Daniel Bellemare) and the Lebanese Prosecutor-General (Saeed Mirza), which detail the steps taken by the Lebanese authorities to apprehend the accused and inform them about the proceedings,” the Hague-based court said.

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare refused to postpone the release of a new indictment until the renewal of the STL’s cooperation protocol, according to al-Liwaa newspaper published Monday.

An opposition parliamentary source told the daily that Bellemare’s discussions with Lebanese officials during his farewell visit to Beirut last week increased the political tension in the country.