STL refers Judge Fransen new indictment

Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has referred a new indictment to Pre-Trial Judge Daniel Fransen in the attacks on the three Lebanese officials that have been linked to ex-Premier Rafiq Hariri’s murder, the Lebanese daily Al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Friday. Sources close to the prosecutor’s office told the daily that Bellemare referred to Fransen the new indictment in the assassination attempts of MP Marwan Hamadeh, ex-Defence Minister Elias Murr, and the murder of former Communist party leader George Hawi. Media reports had said that Bellemare was expected to issue a new indictment before he leaves his post in March. His successor has not yet been named. The sources didn’t disclose the content of the indictment, hinting that it might include a fifth suspect linked to Hariri’s February 2005 assassination.