BEIRUT: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has sentenced 57-year-old Salim Ayyash, convicted of conspiring to kill former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, to five counts of life in prison.
The sentence was announced by the tribunal — established in February 2006 based on an agreement between the Lebanese government and the UN — in a session on Friday at The Hague.
Last August, a session convicted Ayyash of “killing and committing a terrorist act” in the Hariri assassination, after a truck carrying 1,000 kilos of explosives targeted Hariri’s convoy, killing Bassel Fuleihan and 20 civilians, and injuring 226 people.
Ayyash, who remains on the run, was tried in his absence. He is a leader in Hezbollah, which has refused to recognize the court.
The international court had not found “sufficient evidence” to convict Assad Hassan Sabra, 43, Hussein Oneissi, 46, and Hassan Habib Merhi, 54, from Hezbollah. The proceedings against Mustafa Amin Badreddine, who was mysteriously killed in Damascus in May 2016, were terminated by the Trial Chamber.
Marwan Hamadeh, who resigned as an MP in August in protest at the government’s handling of the Beirut blasts, said: “The sentence affects more than Ayyash who did not make up the conspiracy or complete coordination with Tehran, Damascus, hotbeds of terrorism, the intelligence’s underground tunnels, TNT and C4 depots, alone. He was not the only one who bought cars, trucks and phone lines, prepared the assassination team and recruited the misguided individuals to motivate them to commit suicide or what is called ‘martyrdom’.”
“Sentencing an absent criminal to life might seem trivial if compared with the crime’s level and atrocity. However, this sentencing is a lesson for the Lebanese judiciary that was negligent in a time of bloodshed, above all,” he added.
Ayyash’s sentencing was announced during adverse reactions to the decision of investigating judge, Fadi Sawan, to charge Prime Minister Hassan Diab, as well as three other ministers, with negligence in the Beirut Port explosion.
Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri met Diab at the Grand Serail on Friday and expressed solidarity with him and his “absolute rejection of the clear and flagrant violation of the constitution” by Judge Fadi Sawan when he filed charges against the prime minister.
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Ayyash, who remains on the run, was tried in his absence. He is a leader in Hezbollah, which has refused to recognize the court.
In a statement, Hariri stressed that “the constitution is clear, and prime ministers only appear before a special court established by the parliament.”
“The premiership is not for blackmail, and we will not accept that. It is the right of the martyrs’ families to know the truth, and know who brought the ship loaded with ammonium nitrate and covered for it. Violating the constitution and indicting the premiership is unacceptable,” he said.
Former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said: “President Michel Aoun said that he knew about the ammonium nitrate 15 days before the explosion, and did not take any action. As for Prime Minister Diab, it has been said that when he found out about it, he planned to visit the port and inspect it but desisted from that. Why did neither take any position that prevents that material from remaining at the port? Why is there selectivity in the proceedings? Both are responsible.”
Former Prime Minister Tammam Salam also expressed solidarity with Diab and stressed that “the government is not a scapegoat.”
Former Prime Minister Najib Mikati said: “Some authorities did not learn that the current situation is due to misguided policies and singling out, and once again, they resorted to making the new government a pawn.”
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Latif Derian called on Diab to express his solidarity with him and his refusal to insult the premiership position. Sawan is set to interrogate Diab on Monday.
Diab’s media office considered that Sawan “violated the constitution and bypassed the parliament. Diab presented all his information to the judge who interrogated him in September about his prior knowledge about the explosive chemicals stored at the port.”
Asked if the Sunni solidarity with Diab represents interference in the course of justice and pressure on Sawan, one of Hariri’s advisers told Arab News: “Judge Sawan made a mistake in exercising his powers and in his judicial work.”
Rachid Derbas, former minister and chairman of the Lawyers’ Syndicate, told Arab News: “The country cannot be ruled by spite and the judiciary cannot act randomly. Sawan made a mistake in the beginning when he directly addressed the parliament and called for waiving the immunity to prosecute politicians he did not name, without going through the Discriminatory Public Prosecution. The parliament responded by saying that the material they received lacked sufficient documents, and Sawan considered that the parliament evaded his request and decided to file charges against the prime minister and three other ministers.”
Hezbollah denounced the charge against Diab and in a statement, and called on Sawan “to reconsider his decision since it lacks a legal and constitutional basis.” It added that accusing the four officials is selective.
