Beirut seeks UN extension of Hariri murder inquest
AFP
Date: 05-03-06
BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon will ask the United Nations to extend for 12 months the mandate of the international commission probing the murder of former prime minister Rafiq Hariri.
Justice Minister Charles Rizk was quoted as saying the extension from a June 15 expiry was necessary for the United Nations to complete its investigation and establish an international court to try those involved.
The request was decided at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday night.
Earlier this year, a report issued by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for the establishment of a tribunal composed of Lebanese and foreign judges, which he said should be established outside Lebanon for security reasons.
No deadline has been set for creating the court.
In a report to the UN Security Council in March, the head of the UN probe commission, Serge Brammertz, cited progress in his investigation but stressed that Syrian cooperation would be critical if it were to make further headway.
Two interim reports by the commission have implicated senior Syrian officials and their Lebanese allies in the February 2005 death of Hariri and 22 others in a massive bomb blast on the Beirut seafront.
Syria was the main powerbroker in Lebanon for some three decades before it pulled its troops out last year following Hariri's murder. It has strongly denied any involvement in the murder and accused the United Nations of bias.
On April 25, Brammertz met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the first time to discuss the case.
Source
About headlines and content that has changed after it was added to this site - see disclaimer here
FAIR USE NOTICE
This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.