Daily Star - Dutch government signs deal to host Hariri tribunal - Ban approves assignment of judges to court, December 24, 2007
The UN and the Dutch government have signed an agreement on hosting the international tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon approved recommendations to assign judges to the body. The Headquarters Agreement for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was signed in New York by UN Assistant Secretary General for Legal Affairs Larry D. Johnson and Dutch Ambassador Frank Majoor. The names of the judges that will serve on the Special Tribunal are expected to be disclosed early in 2008. The judges and the prosecutor are to be appointed by the secretary general upon the recommendation of a selection panel he had earlier established.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende agreed in August to host the special court after some initial hesitation on security grounds. The Netherlands will be responsible for security. Witnesses who cannot return to their own country for security reasons will not be able to live in The Netherlands after they have given evidence. The court will also have jurisdiction over other attacks against anti-Syrian Lebanese figures carried out between October 2004 and December 2005 if they are linked to the Hariri slaying. UN investigators probing Hariri's murder have identified several people who they say may have been involved in the killing, but no one has been charged. The Dutch Cabinet was expected Friday to offer the headquarters of the country's top spy agency to a UN tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspects in the Hariri assassination. The Balkenende government had previously said it was "favorably disposed" to Ban's request to host the Hariri court. At its regular weekly meeting Friday, the Cabinet was expected to choose the headquarters of the Intelligence and Security Service as the UN tribunal's seat, media reported. The agency, known by its Dutch acronym AIVD, is moving shortly from its offices in Leidschendam, a village near The Hague, to new quarters. It is not clear when the site will be ready for the UN investigative commission, which is currently working in Lebanon. The tribunal is the latest international justice institution in or near The Hague, which also is home to the International Court of Justice, the UN's Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and the International Criminal Court. The city also is hosting the trial, which is due to resume early next month, of former Liberian President Charles Taylor on charges of supporting murderous rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war. The suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in February 2005 sparked huge protests against Syria, which the Lebanese government accused of culpability. Syria denied involvement, but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence. UN investigators probing Hariri's assassination are also assisting the Lebanese government with investigations of 18 other assassinations and bombings that targeted mainly anti-Syrian figures. In his final appearance before the UN Security Council earlier this month, outgoing chief of the Hariri probe, Serge Brammertz, said he is more confident than ever that those allegedly involved in the Hariri assassination will face justice. Brammertz said that progress made in the last few months has enabled UN investigators to identify "a number of persons of interest" who may have been involved in some aspect of the crime - or knew about the preparations. Brammertz also said in his final report that investigators had confirmed their hypothesis that "operational links may exist" between the perpetrators of the 18 other targeted assassinations and bombings in Lebanon.
The UN and the Dutch government have signed an agreement on hosting the international tribunal that would try suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri and related crimes, as UN chief Ban Ki-moon approved recommendations to assign judges to the body. The Headquarters Agreement for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon was signed in New York by UN Assistant Secretary General for Legal Affairs Larry D. Johnson and Dutch Ambassador Frank Majoor. The names of the judges that will serve on the Special Tribunal are expected to be disclosed early in 2008. The judges and the prosecutor are to be appointed by the secretary general upon the recommendation of a selection panel he had earlier established.
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende agreed in August to host the special court after some initial hesitation on security grounds. The Netherlands will be responsible for security. Witnesses who cannot return to their own country for security reasons will not be able to live in The Netherlands after they have given evidence. The court will also have jurisdiction over other attacks against anti-Syrian Lebanese figures carried out between October 2004 and December 2005 if they are linked to the Hariri slaying. UN investigators probing Hariri's murder have identified several people who they say may have been involved in the killing, but no one has been charged. The Dutch Cabinet was expected Friday to offer the headquarters of the country's top spy agency to a UN tribunal to investigate and prosecute suspects in the Hariri assassination. The Balkenende government had previously said it was "favorably disposed" to Ban's request to host the Hariri court. At its regular weekly meeting Friday, the Cabinet was expected to choose the headquarters of the Intelligence and Security Service as the UN tribunal's seat, media reported. The agency, known by its Dutch acronym AIVD, is moving shortly from its offices in Leidschendam, a village near The Hague, to new quarters. It is not clear when the site will be ready for the UN investigative commission, which is currently working in Lebanon. The tribunal is the latest international justice institution in or near The Hague, which also is home to the International Court of Justice, the UN's Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and the International Criminal Court. The city also is hosting the trial, which is due to resume early next month, of former Liberian President Charles Taylor on charges of supporting murderous rebels in Sierra Leone's civil war. The suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in February 2005 sparked huge protests against Syria, which the Lebanese government accused of culpability. Syria denied involvement, but was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year presence. UN investigators probing Hariri's assassination are also assisting the Lebanese government with investigations of 18 other assassinations and bombings that targeted mainly anti-Syrian figures. In his final appearance before the UN Security Council earlier this month, outgoing chief of the Hariri probe, Serge Brammertz, said he is more confident than ever that those allegedly involved in the Hariri assassination will face justice. Brammertz said that progress made in the last few months has enabled UN investigators to identify "a number of persons of interest" who may have been involved in some aspect of the crime - or knew about the preparations. Brammertz also said in his final report that investigators had confirmed their hypothesis that "operational links may exist" between the perpetrators of the 18 other targeted assassinations and bombings in Lebanon.
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