The International Tribunal for Lebanon, on Thursday, overturned the acquittal and issued an arrest warrant in absentia for two members of the “Hezbollah” group, in the case of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The Tribunal decided, according to its President, Judge Ivana Hrdlichkova, “unanimously” to rescind the verdict of acquittal of Hassan Merhi and Hussein Oneissi, and to declare them “guilty”, according to a statement of the International Tribunal for Lebanon.
The statement announced, “The decision of the Appeals Chamber of the Court to convict Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Hassan Oneissi, following unanimously annulled a previous ruling that acquitted them.”
“The Appeals Chamber unanimously overturned the acquittal of Merhi and Oneisy, and declared both of them guilty beyond any doubt in relation to the charges once morest them,” the statement said.
“The court also issued arrest warrants once morest them,” he added.
— Special Tribunal for Lebanon (@STLebanon) March 10, 2022
In late 2020, the court convicted group member Salim Ayyash in the same case, and sentenced him in absentia to life imprisonment, while acquitting 3 other defendants, including Merhi and Oneissi, of the charge of premeditated murder in the Hariri assassination case in 2005.
— Special Tribunal for Lebanon (@STLebanon) May 3, 2021
However, in early 2021, the prosecution submitted an appeal to the verdict and requested the conviction of Merhi and Oneissi.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is a criminal case of an international character, approved by the UN Security Council in 2009, to investigate and try those accused of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others.
Rafik Hariri was assassinated on February 14, 2005, when a huge explosion targeted his convoy in the capital, Beirut, along with 21 other people, including Economy Minister Basil Fleihan, who was accompanied by Hariri in his car.