Daily Star - Bellemare: STL indictment has not been drafted yet - Thursday, September 02, 2010

BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) will not be rushed into filing premature indictments in the probe investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the court’s prosecutor said in comments published Wednesday.

In a rare interview with Lebanese media, STL Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare indicated that media reports of imminent arrests were misleading. He also confirmed that the United Nations’ inquiry is undertaking a “serious analysis” of Hizbullah’s claims that Israel was culpable in Hariri’s death.

“I have read articles saying that some people had already seen the indictment. Let me state clearly that the indictment has not been drafted yet,” Bellemare told news website NOW Lebanon. “I will only file the indictment when I am satisfied that there is enough evidence.

The UN probe has been under pressure since commencing proceedings in 2009 to exact swift justice on the perpetrators of the crime which killed billionaire and five-time Premier Hariri and 22 others as his motorcade sped through Downtown Beirut on February 14, 2005.

Bellemare, however, said an indictment would not materialize until “convincing evidence” to implement individuals had emerged.

“Currently I am working in what I would call the evidentiary process; I have to make sure that the evidence I will produce is admissible in court,” the Canadian said. “I want to make sure there is as much convincing evidence as possible. All I can tell you is that I am very optimistic. We are moving as fast as we can. Let’s say as soon as possible, but not sooner than possible.”

Blame for the massive car bomb was laid at Syria’s door by many and the explosion prompted the eventual withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon after three decades of tutelage. Damascus has repeatedly denied involvement in the killing and the STL continues to battle allegations of politicization. Most notable was Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who called the court an “Israeli project” earlier this year.

Bellemare, who ended his retirement to take the reins at the head the STL’s prosecution team, strenuously denied that the probe had become a political.

“The day I am faced with political interference I cannot deal with, I will resign. To those who say I am influenced by this or that person, I will tell them, ‘Sorry, but I am not,’” he said. “The fact of the matter is that we are not politicized. We operate in a political context, no question about that. But the decision that will be made is not a political decision. [The decision] is made independently; nobody will tell me what to do.”

The 58 year-old also hit out at intense media speculation surrounding the case, labeling some press claims “truly outrageous.”

“All these things [reported] are more confusing than anything else. They are purely speculations, and frankly, while reading these papers I learn myself as much [as] everybody else,” Bellemare said.

Bellemare voiced his willingness to examine video footage unveiled last month by Nasrallah, purportedly showing undated Israeli surveillance drone footage of the route Hariri’s convoy took before his assassination.

“If somebody comes to me with credible evidence that shows me that I may not be on the right path, whatever path I am on, then of course I will look at that material,” he said. “This is exactly what we are doing. Nasrallah says I have the material and we are looking at it. But in order to make an assessment you need to work with a complete record. That is why we asked for the rest [of Hizbullah’s data].”

The prosecutor refused to confirm or deny if Israeli individuals or officials had been contacted by investigators. “At this point this is part of the ongoing investigation. What I said before is that I will go where the evidence leads me,” Bellemare said.

He also declined to comment on claims made by erstwhile suspects Mohammad Zuheir Siddiq and Hussam Hussam – the former claiming that Hizbullah was sponsoring “false witnesses” in order to cover its own potential implication in the crime. “Basically, he is not somebody we will produce in court as a witness,” Bellemare said about Siddiq.

The potential explosiveness of an indictment accusing a Lebanese group or individual of killing Hariri has been outlined by Nasrallah and Premier Saad Hariri in recent weeks. The unrest simmering over STL gossip was dampened last month by an extraordinary meeting of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah and Syrian President Bashar Assad in Beirut for palliative talks.

Bellemare showed his awareness of the volatile after effects any prosecution might bring, but insisted justice must be allowed to take its course.

“Frankly, I would like to reach a result tomorrow,” he said. “But I want to reach a result that is credible and solid. At the end of the day, we will talk through our indictment. That would be our response to everything.”