Brammertz to publish names of four suspects in Hariri killing

Daily Star - Brammertz to publish names of four suspects in Hariri killing, November 28, 2007

Belgian prosecutor Serge Brammertz, who heads the UN investigation into the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, will reveal for the first time the names of four suspects in the killing, according to a report published in As-Safir newspaper Tuesday. Quoting a well-informed UN source, As-Safir said the names would be made public in Brammertz's final report, which is to be published this week. "But the source did not reveal the exact role performed by those four people in the assassination process," the daily said. Brammertz's sixth report will be his last before quitting his post at the end of the year. The UN Security Council is expected to appoint Canada's Daniel Bellemare as successor to Brammertz after UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recommended his appointment earlier this month. Bellemare, an expert in international criminal cases, will also be appointed as the prosecutor before the international tribunal which will try those involved in the assassinations, according to the report in As-Safir. This will be the first time that a commissioner assigned to investigate a criminal case will also be appointed as a prosecutor, the daily added. According to As-Safir, Ban was due to receive Brammertz's report "today [Tuesday]" but "the report's publishing might be delayed for one or two days so it does not impose any negative effects on the Annapolis conference." The UN Security Council invoked Chapter 7 of the UN Charter earlier this year in approving the creation of a special international court to try suspects in Hariri's 2005 assassination. The special court for Lebanon is expected to consist of a trial chamber that will include two international judges and one Lebanese judge, as well as an appeals chamber which will include three international and two Lebanese jurists. ebanon will choose an assistant prosecutor in coordination with Ban. The assistant prosecutor is expected to be Lebanese but no names have been proposed so far. The As-Safir report said that the selection panel tasked with appointing judges for the tribunal has not yet accomplished its mission. "The UN secretary general hopes that the panel will complete its task by the end of the year," the newspaper quoted another UN source as saying. "The selection process is still ongoing and Ban has not made any final decisions yet," the source told the paper, speaking on condition of anonymity. The selection panel for the court is composed of two judges, currently sitting on or retired from an international tribunal, and the representative of the secretary general, Nicholas Michel, and is tasked with recommending to Ban the names of the four Lebanese judges and seven international judges who should serve on the court, as well as its chief prosecutor. As for the location of the tribunal, media reports said on Tuesday that Holland had proposed a building located in the south of the country near the headquarters of the International Penal Court, between the two cities of The Hague and Leidsendam.