Ban names panel to pick Hariri judges, prosecutor

Daily Star - Ban names panel to pick Hariri judges, prosecutor, October 12, 2007

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon sent a letter to the president of the Security Council informing the council of his intention to appoint judges Mohammad Amin al-Mehdi, Erik Mese and Nicolas Michel as members of the selection panel for the judges and prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon covering the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a UN statement said on Thursday. Pursuant to a document annexed to Security Council Resolution 1757, the judges and the prosecutor are to be appointed by the secretary general upon the recommendation of a selection panel he has established, after indicating his intentions to the Security Council. The selection panel will be composed of two judges, currently sitting on or retired from an international tribunal, and the representative of the secretary general. Mehdi and Mese are distinguished jurists. Mehdi, an Egyptian, formerly served on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Mese, a Norwegian, currently serves on the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Michel is the United Nations undersecretary general for legal affairs. "The secretary general remains committed to establishing the tribunal in a timely manner, in keeping with Resolution 1757, and continues to believe that the tribunal will contribute to ending impunity in Lebanon for the crimes under its jurisdiction," the statement added. In separate developments, Beirut Chief Investigating Magistrate Abdel-Rahim Hammoud cleared the former executive secretary of Al-Madina Bank, Rana Qoleilat, as well as the bank's owner, Ibrahim Abu Ayash, and other employees, of all chages "for lack of sufficient evidence," a judicial report said. Hammoud dismissed the presence of elements proving that the aforementioned people had committed the crimes of fraud and forgery. Brizilian authorities had released Qoleilat one day before the Lebanese judiciary's decision. She has been held by Brazilian authorities since March 2006. Qoleilat fled to Brazil in the wake of Hariri's killing. She was previously jailed in Lebanon for her alleged role in the disappearance of more than $300 million from the bank in 2003. The Lebanese government has sought to question Qoleilat over the possible use of cash transfers from Al-Madina to finance the Hariri assassination.