The Special Tribunal for Lebanon said in a statement that the accused in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri filed their Pre-Trial Briefs.
“The Defense counsel for the four accused filed their Pre-Trial Briefs this week, challenging the Prosecutor's allegations about the 14 February 2005 attack in Beirut,” the statement issued on Friday said.
The statement went on to say that the Defense counsel of one of the accused – Assad Hassan Sabra – “criticized the Prosecution for what they describe as a failure to disclose documents that will be used in trial.”
“In addition, they noted that Lebanon has not provided a substantial amount of information crucial to the Defense, rendering counsel ‘effectively unable to conduct meaningful investigations.’”
The Defense disputes the Prosecution's account of the attack and the alleged involvement of the four accused.
The tribunal is probing the killing of Hariri, who was assassinated in a car bomb attack near Downtown Beirut in 2005. Four members belonging to the Shiite group Hezbollah were indicted in the assassination, but Hezbollah, which is mainly backed by Syria and Iran, has strongly denied the charges and refused to cooperate with the tribunal.
The Pre-Trial Judge recently set 25 March 2013 as the tentative date to begin the trial.
