20141117_STL-11-01_T_T93_OFF_PUB_EN 1/95 PUBLIC Official Transcript Procedural Matters (Open Session) Page 1 1 Special Tribunal for Lebanon 2 In the case of The Prosecutor v. Ayyash, Badreddine, Merhi, 3 Oneissi, and Sabra 4 STL-11-01 5 Presiding Judge David Re, Judge Janet Nosworthy, 6 Judge Micheline Braidy, Judge Walid Akoum, and 7 Judge Nicola Lettieri - [Trial Chamber] 8 Monday, 17 November 2014 - [Trial Hearing] 9 [Open Session] 10 --- Upon commencing at 10.20 a.m. 11 THE REGISTRAR: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is sitting in an 12 open session in the case of the Prosecutor versus Ayyash, Badreddine, 13 Merhi, Oneissi, and Sabra, case number STL-11-01. 14 PRESIDING JUDGE RE: Good morning to everyone. 15 Could we please take appearances, starting with the Prosecutor. 16 MR. CAMERON: Good morning, Your Honour. It's Graeme Cameron for 17 the Office of the Prosecution. I'm assisted today by my friend 18 Gulnaz Bari and Skye Winner. 19 MR. HAYNES: Good morning, Your Honour. Peter Haynes for the 20 participating victims, together with Mohammad Mattar and 21 Nada Abdelsater-Abusamra. We're assisted today by Tamara Kosic and 22 Joanna Spek. 23 MR. O'SULLIVAN: Good morning, Eugene O'Sullivan, Tom Hannis, and 24 Denis Stoychev, we represent the interests of Mr. Ayyash. 25 MR. JONES: Good morning, Your Honours. John Jones representing Monday, 17 November 2014 STL-11-01 Interpretation serves to facilitate communication. Only the original speech is authentic. 20141117_STL-11-01_T_T93_OFF_PUB_EN 2/95 PUBLIC Official Transcript Procedural Matters (Open Session) Page 2 1 the interests of Mr. Badreddine. I'm joined today by Pauline Baranes. 2 MR. HASSAN: [Interpretation] Good morning, Your Honour, 3 honourable members of the Bench. The Oneissi team is composed today of 4 Mr. Philippe Larochelle, Mrs. Artemis Chatzistavrou, and myself, 5 Yasser Hassan. 6 MR. YOUNG: Your Honours, good morning. David Young representing 7 the interests of Assad Sabra, assisted today by my associate legal 8 officer Sarah Bafadhel. Thank you. 9 MR. AOUINI: [Interpretation] Good morning, Your Honour, 10 honourable members of the Bench. I'm Mohamed Aouini. I'm assisted today 11 by Ms. Dorothee Le Fraper du Hellen. Thank you. 12 PRESIDING JUDGE RE: Good morning to you -- 13 MR. AOUINI: [Interpretation] And of course we represent the 14 interests of Mr. Merhi. 15 PRESIDING JUDGE RE: And I note also in court this morning the 16 presence of the Defence Office in the form of the Head of the Defence 17 Office, Mr. Roux, and another lawyer. 18 Mr. Cameron, you're going to call Mr. Marwan Hamade this morning. 19 That's the only business you have before the Court today? 20 MR. CAMERON: Yes, Your Honour. 21 PRESIDING JUDGE RE: All right. We will do that, but first I 22 have to -- the Trial Chamber has to deliver a reasoned decision in 23 relation to the decision we made on Friday in relation to the scope of 24 Mr. Hamade 's evidence. It's going to take a few minutes to do this, so 25 I would ask you to bear with me. The decision is the following. Monday, 17 November 2014 STL-11-01 Interpretation serves to facilitate communication. Only the original speech is authentic. 20141117_STL-11-01_T_T93_OFF_PUB_EN 3/95 PUBLIC Official Transcript Ruling (Open Session) Page 3 1 The Prosecution proposes to call Mr. Marwan Hamade to testify as 2 a witness in this trial today, Monday, the 17th of November, 2014. 3 Counsel for the five accused asked the Trial Chamber not to hear some of 4 the evidence that the Prosecutor proposed to call. 5 Mr. Hamade's name appeared on the Prosecution's witness list 6 filed on the 13th -- sorry, 15th of November, 2012, and has remained 7 there since. 8 Mr. Hamade, it appears from the material provided to the 9 Trial Chamber, made some 11 statements, including interviews, to the 10 United Nations Independent Investigation Commission and to the Special 11 Tribunal's Prosecution. The dates are 4 October 2014; 4 July 2005; 12 22 December 2005; 26 January 2006; 8 September 2006; 12 March 2008; 13 13th of March, 2008; 19th of March, 2008; two on the 21st of May, 2010; 14 and again on the 3rd to 5th of October, 2011. 15 The Prosecution appears to be relying, for the purposes of 16 Mr. Hamade's testimony, upon evidence contained in the statements of the 17 22nd of December, 2005; 13th of March, 2008; 21st of May, 2010; 18 5th of October, 2011; and in an interview made on -- over 12th to 19 13th of March, 2008. 20 The Prosecution disclosed these statements to counsel for the 21 accused Mr. Ayyash, Badreddine, Oneissi, and Sabra on the 22 14th of November, 2012. The statements were disclosed to counsel for the 23 fifth accused, Mr. Merhi, on the 3rd of January, 2014. 24 Mr. Hamade was himself the victim of an assassination attempt on 25 1st of October, 2004, and on the 5th of August, 2011, the Pre-Trial Judge Monday, 17 November 2014 STL-11-01 Interpretation serves to facilitate communication. Only the original speech is authentic. 20141117_STL-11-01_T_T93_OFF_PUB_EN 4/95 PUBLIC Official Transcript Ruling (Open Session) Page 4 1 in a decision entitled: Decision on the Prosecutor's connected case 2 submission of 30th of June, 2011, held that the Special Tribunal has 3 jurisdiction over this attack, that is, the attack on Mr. Hamade. We 4 still await the confirmation of an indictment in that case. 5 The Prosecution in its pre-trial brief filed on the 15th of 6 December, 2012, stated that it intended to lead evidence of the attack on 7 Mr. Hamade as evidence in this trial, that's the trial against Mr. Ayyash 8 and the other three accused. However, on the 18th of December, 2013, in 9 a submission entitled: Prosecution submission pursuant to Rules 91(G) 10 (ii) and (iii), the Prosecution informed the Trial Chamber that it was no 11 longer going to lead that evidence in this trial. 12 Counsel for the Prosecution, in lengthy legal submissions on the 13 13th of November, outlined what were described as five themes of relevant 14 evidence contained in Mr. Hamade's statements and interviews. He 15 foreshadowed that a total of 13 Prosecution witnesses would give evidence 16 in relation to these. The five themes are: Mr. Hariri's deteriorating 17 relationship with Syria, as a consequence of his goal to strengthen the 18 Lebanese autonomy; Syria's corresponding increasing resolve to exert 19 control beyond mere influence over Lebanese internal affairs; growing 20 concerns voiced by the international community regarding external 21 pressures bearing upon the political affairs of Lebanon; the evolution of 22 an effective opposition movement in September 2004, and thereafter in 23 Lebanon, of which Mr. Hariri was first a silent and then a more public 24 participant; and fifth, Mr. Hariri's status as an influential statesman 25 in the Gulf Region and beyond. Monday, 17 November 2014 STL-11-01 Interpretation serves to facilitate communication. Only the original speech is authentic. 20141117_STL-11-01_T_T93_OFF_PUB_EN 5/95 PUBLIC Official Transcript Ruling (Open Session) Page 5 1 This evidence, according to the Prosecution counsel, would 2 provide useful background or context in respect of the political 3 circumstances prevailing in Lebanon at the time of Mr. Hariri's 4 assassination, and in understanding certain evidentiary aspects of the 5 alleged co-conspirators' conduct in respect of the timing of the 6 conspiracy and to the significance of particular acts committed to 7 achieve the goals of the conspiracy charged. In support of its 8 arguments, the Prosecution referred to and relied upon decisions of the 9 International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the 10 International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, the International Criminal 11 Court, and the Special Court for Sierra Leone. 12 Mr. Hamade, who was a minister in the Lebanese government in 13 2004, is expected to testify about meetings that Mr. Hariri had with 14 Syrian officials, including its President Mr. Bashar Al-Assad in 15 December 2003 and then between August 2004 and February 2005. The most 16 important meeting, according to the Prosecution case, occurred in 17 Damascus on the 26th of August, 2004. It was followed by a number of 18 relevant political events, including discussions about the extension of 19 the mandate of the then-President Lahoud; the amendment of the Lebanese 20 Constitution to permit this; the passing of United Nations Security 21 Council Resolution 1559 on the 2nd of September, 2004; political debates 22 about proposed reforms to the Lebanese electoral laws; the resignation of 23 a number of ministers from Mr. Hariri's cabinet; and Mr. Hariri's own 24 resignation as prime minister of Lebanon on the 20th of October, 2004. 25 The Prosecution connects this proposed evidence with the Monday, 17 November 2014 STL-11-01 Interpretation serves to facilitate communication. Only the original speech is authentic. 20141117_STL-11-01_T_T93_OFF_PUB_EN 6/95 PUBLIC Official Transcript Ruling (Open Session) Page 6 1 allegations in the consolidated indictment by explaining a possible 2 confluence of events occurring during the initial preparations for the 3 alleged conspiracy. 4 The Prosecution also connects the dates of the alleged 5 surveillance of Mr. Hariri by some of the accused on 17 different dates 6 between 20th of October, 2004, and 14th of February, 2005, including 7 Mr. Hariri's trips to the Parliament in Beirut and to Beirut airport and 8 to some of these other political events.