UN renews mandate of Special Tribunal for Lebanon

5 Dariya News

United Nations 03-Jan-2015

UN Secretary General Ban Ki- moon has extended the mandate of the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) for another three years, the inter-governmental organisation said Friday.STL, based in The Hague, the Netherlands, is an independent tribunal set up at the request of the Lebanese government to hold trials for suspects in the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri.Ban extended the mandate from March 1 in accordance with the terms of the Annex to Security Council Resolution 1757, adopted in 2007, said a release."The secretary general reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to support the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to bring those responsible to justice and to ensure that impunity for such major crimes will not be tolerated," it said.On February 14, 2005, Hariri's convoy was bombed in central Beirut, killing the 61-year-old politician along with 22 others.Five accused have been indicted over the killing. The trial in absentia began in Jan 2014 and is currently underway.