Iranian official slams STL verdict
Iran: A top Iranian lawmaker has censured the US-backed Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) for issuing indictments against Hezbollah
members over the assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.
Chairman of Iran’s Majlis (parliament) Committee on National Security
and Foreign Policy Alaeddin Boroujerdi emphasized that the verdict has
no “legal value,” Mehr News Agency reported on Sunday.
On February 14, 2005, a massive bomb blew up the vehicle carrying
Rafiq Hariri, killing the Lebanese leader and over 20 other people. The
STL, which has been investigating Hariri’s death for the past four years
with major backing and influence from Washington, submitted a sealed
indictment and arrest warrants to the Lebanese Justice Ministry on June
30.
However, according to Lebanese observers, a report on the planned
indictment of the individual was already published by major German news
magazine Der Spiegel, pointing to yet another instance of a deliberate
leak by the tribunal aimed at publicizing its decisions before
submitting them to Lebanese authorities. The indictment had named four
members of the Lebanese resistance movement of Hezbollah.
The Iranian official said that the use of false witnesses are one
reason that proved the illegitimacy of the STL.
“Since its establishment, it was clear that this tribunal was not
judicial but political and under the influence of the US and Israel,”
said Boroujerdi.
“Therefore, it lacked legitimacy from the very beginning,” he added.
On Saturday, Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah
rejected the allegations that the group was involved in Hariri’s
assassination, saying the indictments were premeditated and politicized.
Sunday, Press TV |