The Special Tribunal for Lebanon’s prosecutor has filed a confidential motion to amend the indictment against four Hezbollah members accused of involvement in the 2005 assassination of Rafik Hariri.
The STL said in a statement Thursday that the amendments that were being sought by the prosecution “set out certain clarifications.”
The timing of the filing follows a commitment made by the prosecutor during a conference held by the pretrial judge on Jan. 30.
The STL defense team asked the tribunal last month to postpone the date of the trial, set for March 25, after the lawyers said the prosecution failed to disclose all relevant documents crucial to the case.
The attorneys were appointed last February to represent Hezbollah members Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badreddine, Hussein Oneissi and Assad Sabra.
The prosecution supported the defense’s request to delay the trial date during a hearing chaired by Pretrial Judge Daniel Fransen last week.
Fransen said he was not ready to make a decision on the issue but would do so swiftly.
The prosecution said that it would complete disclosure of all documents by March 11, however, following the lead of the defense attorneys, it did not suggest an alternative start date.
The proceedings will be held in absentia as the men remain at large.
Hezbollah has repeatedly denied involvement in the case, with its leader Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah vowing never to hand over the suspects.
