Lebanon tribunal cancels Salim Ayyash trial over lack of funds

Lawyers said the court was the last hope for rule of law and justice in the country

Emergency personnel inspect the scene after the car bomb that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in Beirut. EPA

Salim Jamil Ayyash, one of four men wanted for the assassination of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Reuters

Judges Walid Akoum, Janet Nosworthy, David Re, Micheline Braidy and Nicola Lettier preside over the courtroom of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague in 2014. Reuters

Francois Roux, Head of Defence Office, sits beside Anne-Marie Burns, Associate Legal Officer, in the courtroom of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in The Hague, Netherlands in 2010. Reuters

Bahia Hariri, sister of the former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in August 2020. EPA

Irish Deputy Police Commisioner Peter Fitzgerald, left, head of a United Nations fact-finding team, inspects the bomb scene in 2005. Reuters

Draped with the Lebanese national flag, the coffin of assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri is carried through a crowd in central Beirut in February 2005. EPA

A woman mourns former prime minister Rafik Hariri during protests in the port city of Sidon, February 15, 2005. Reuters

Lebanese policemen and security forces inspect the scene of the car bomb which blew up the motorcade of former prime minister Rafik Hariri on Beirut's seafront. Reuters

Emergency personnel inspect the scene after of a car bomb that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, in Beirut, Lebanon, February 14, 2005. EPA

A new trial against Salim Ayyash, found guilty last year of involvement in the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, has been cancelled by a UN-backed tribunal due to a lack of funds.

The trial was meant to begin on June 16, prosecuting Ayyash, a member of the Iran-backed Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, for attacks on senior Lebanese politicians: former deputy prime minister Elias El Murr, former lawmaker Marwan Hamade and politician George Hawi.

Mr Hamade and El Murr survived the assassination attempts, but Hawi was killed.

The court found the three cases to be connected with the attack that killed Mr Hariri in 2005 and charged Ayyash with five counts, including acts of terrorism.

“The imminent exhaustion of funds will impact the tribunal’s ability to finance the continuation of judicial proceedings and completion of its mandate unless further contributions are forthcoming this month,” the court said.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) said days earlier the court would close in July if it didn't find urgent funding.

Lebanon is responsible for covering 49 per cent of the tribunal's budget but has been unable to fulfil its commitments due to a crippling economic and financial crisis that has plunged half the country’s population into poverty.

In March, the UN provided $15.5 million in additional funding to plug the deficit but funding remains short.

Ahead of the trial, it urged the international community to provide further financial support.

“The STL continues its intensive efforts to raise the funds required to carry on its ongoing judicial proceedings and reiterates its urgent call upon the international community for its continued financial support,” the STL said.

Lawyers representing the victims said the tribunal’s failure for financial reasons would send a negative message to those awaiting justice, describing the court as "the last hope for rule of law and justice in Lebanon".