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Lebanon tribunal probing Hariri's assassination cancels session

June 3, 2021 at 8:18 pm

Former Lebanon’s Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on 9 June 2003 [MAURICIO LIMA/AFP/Getty Images]

The international tribunal in Lebanon probing the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri cancelled a session today in the trial of suspected Hezbollah member Salim Ayyash for his role in the assassination, Anadolu Agency reports.

The court said it is running at a severe financial deficit and it may have to close by July if the financial crisis is not addressed.

“Despite taking in significant cuts of staff and across the board reductions, without additional funding the Tribunal will be forced to close its doors in the coming months,” said registrar David Tolbert.

Tolbert said the funding shortfall leaves “important cases unfinished to the detriment of victims, the fight against impunity and the rule of law.”

The court is funded 51 per cat by foreign and UN contributions while the remaining 49 per cent is covered by Lebanon.

The UN allocated $15.5 million to the court’s work in March, however, it is insufficient to continue to achieve its mandate.

Ayyash, whose whereabouts are unknown, was sentenced in December in absentia to five life prison terms in Hariri’s murder on Febuary 14, 2005.

Hariri was killed, along with 22 others, in a massive car bomb that targeted his convoy in Beirut.

A Special Tribunal for Lebanon was formed in 2007 to probe the assassination.