The headquarters of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Hague. (Credit: AFP/File photo)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has extended the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon from March 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023 for the limited purpose of completion of the non-judicial residual functions of the tribunal and for its orderly closure, Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the secretary-general, announced on Thursday in a statement.
Mandated to conduct the trials of those accused of carrying out the 14 Feb. 2005 attack in Beirut that killed 22 people, including the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and injured 226 others, the work of the Special Tribunal based near The Hague in the Netherlands is coming to its end.
"Following a complex investigation and a trial in absentia, the Special Tribunal acquitted Assad Hassan Sabra and convicted Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Merhi, and Hussein Hassan Oneissi for their roles in the attack, sentencing them to five concurrent sentences of life imprisonment, the heaviest sentence possible under the Tribunal’s Statute and Rules," the statement says.
"A completion plan, developed and agreed between the United Nations and the Government of Lebanon, will guide the Special Tribunal during this mandate period to ensure the completion of the Tribunal’s residual functions, including the preservation of the records and archives of the Special Tribunal, responding to requests for information, and ensuring the protection and support of victims and witnesses who cooperated with the Special Tribunal," the statement adds.
"The Secretary-General commends the work of all the judges, senior officials and staff who have worked tirelessly and diligently over the years to implement the Special Tribunal’s mandate, and calls upon Member States to continue to support the Special Tribunal in 2023 to ensure that its residual functions can be completed and its legacy can be ensured," the statement concludes.