Trial in Hariri case to begin in January

The Pre-Trial Judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Daniel Fransen, Friday issued an order setting 13 January 2014 as a new tentative date for the start of the trial of the case linked with killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. The next phase requires the Pre-Trial Judge to refer the case to the Trial Chamber judges, who set the final date for the trial, said the Tribunal which is based outside the Dutch city of the Hague in a statement. Earlier this year, the Pre-Trial Judge postponed the tentative trial date in March concluding that the parties were not ready for trial due to a number of reasons including lack of adequate time for disclosure of material to the defence counsel. He indicated in his decision that most of these issues have since been addressed and a new provisional date for the trial can now be set. The Tribunal has named four suspects who are members of the Lebanese Hizbollah for the killing of Hariri in a car bomb blast in Beirut in February 2005.