Last update - 00:00 07/09/2006
UN counsel in Beirut to shape tribunal for Hariri murder suspects
By Reuters
A United Nations legal counsel began talks with Lebanese authorities on Thursday to discuss the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects in the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri.
Nicolas Michel, under-secretary-general for legal affairs and the legal counsel, will discuss the nature and scope of the tribunal, which the Lebanese government plans to authorize in the next few weeks to try those suspected behind the attack in February 2005.
Michel met Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and Justice Minister Charles Rizk, Lebanese officials said. He is expected to hold further talks before leaving Lebanon on Friday.
An initial UN report said Syrian security officials and their allies in Lebanese security agencies were involved in the blast that killed Hariri and 22 others.
UN investigator Serge Brammertz is expected to produce a report on his inquiry into Hariri's killing around September 29, a UN spokesman in New York said. The report had been expected about two weeks earlier.
Damascus has denied any role in the assassination, which led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon in April 2005.
Hariri's death was followed by more than a dozen bombings that killed or wounded anti-Syrian politicians and journalists.
A senior police intelligence officer involved in the Lebanese investigation into Hariri's murder survived a bid on his life south of Beirut on Tuesday when a roadside bomb wounded him and killed four bodyguards.