The Special Tribunal for Lebanon investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri on Tuesday appointed Stephane Bourgon to investigate the alleged leaks of court witnesses.
“The appointment follows the decision of the Contempt Judge David Baragwanath on 29 April 2013 to initiate proceedings in three incidents which could potentially be considered as interference with the administration of justice through publication of alleged witness identities,” a statement issued by the STL said.
“Bourgon will report back to the Contempt Judge within the next few months on whether there are ‘sufficient grounds’ to start contempt proceedings,” it added.
In April a group calling itself “Journalists for the Truth” hacked the website of Future newspaper and briefly published the names of the alleged witnesses. On its website, Journalists for the Truth describes itself as “a group of journalists seeking to unveil corruption in the STL.” The group aims to “disclose information proving the role of STL senior officials in corruption and bribe cases, which eventually led to the leaking of confidential material.”On January 15, Al-Akhbar newspaper published a list of 17 men it says are witnesses expected to testify before the tribunal.The STL said after the incident that “publicly identifying individuals as potential STL witnesses may endanger these individuals,” which is why the Tribunal “will not confirm whether the content of the news reports is accurate or not.”Formally established on March 1, 2009, the STL has repeatedly been the subject of news reports based on alleged leaks concerning the investigation of Rafiq Hariri’s 2005 murder, evidence in the prosecutor’s possession and witnesses who will supposedly be called to testify when the trial starts.
https://now.mmedia.me/lb/en/lebanonnews/stl-appoints-official-to-probe-alleged-witness-leaks
