US State Department spokesperson Ned Price at a press conference in Washington, D.C., March 10, 2022. (Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta/Reuters)
BEIRUT — US State Department spokesman Ned Price said his government “welcomes” the decision of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which last week found guilty on appeal two alleged Hezbollah members in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.
Here’s what we know:
• “The United States welcomes the conviction by the STL Appeals Chamber of Hezbollah operatives Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Oneissi for the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Hariri, the death of 21 others and the 226 injured,” tweeted Price on Monday. "This decision shows the importance of delivering justice and ending impunity in Lebanon," he continued.
• Last Thursday, STL judge Ivana Hrdlickova announced the trial chamber's decision to overturn the acquittals of Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Oneissi.
• This chamber had already sentenced another alleged member of Hezbollah, Salim Ayache, to life in 2020 in absentia, for intentional homicide.
• Saad Hariri, his brother Bahaa, and former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora welcomed the STL's decision as soon as it was published and called for the prosecution and arrest of both men. They had also criticized Hezbollah, whom they hold responsible for the murder.
• The leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, had already refused to hand over the convicted. None of the men appeared before the Tribunal and they are currently considered at large.