Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Politics
Stephanie van den Berg

Lebanon Tribunal convicts another two men for 2005 Hariri bombing

FILE PHOTO: The grave of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri is seen, in Beirut, Lebanon August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis

Appeals judges at the Lebanon Tribunal on Thursday convicted another two men on charges of terrorism and murder for their role in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik al-Hariri, reversing their earlier acquittal.

The prosecution had appealed against the acquittal of Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Hassan Oneissi, saying there had been fundamental errors in the judgment.

FILE PHOTO: Members of security forces stand guard near a billboard depicting Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, who was killed in a 2005 suicide bombing, in Sidon, southern Lebanon, Lebanon August 18, 2020. REUTERS/Aziz Taher

The judges said the lower trial chamber wrongly assessed the circumstantial evidence in the case, which was based almost entirely on mobile phone records, when they acquitted Merhi and Oneissi.

Like Salim Jamil Ayyash, a former member of the Shi'ite movement Hezbollah, who was convicted in 2020, the two men were tried in absentia and remain at large.

In Lebanon, Hariri's son Saad al-Hariri, also a former Lebanese prime minister, said the ruling obliged the Lebanese authorities to work to hand over those convicted to the court.

He added he holds Hezbollah responsible for “covering up the crime and protecting the criminals".

There was no immediate from Hezbollah, which has previously denied any role in the Hariri assassination.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg, additional reporting by Thomas Perry in Beirut ; Editing by Alison Williams, Alexandra Hudson)

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.