Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday evening that he will not be concerned by the verdict of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which is trying four suspected members of his training for the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri.
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" We do not consider ourselves concerned by the decisions of the STL, " said the secretary of the pro-Iranian Lebanese party in a televised speech, while this court is due to announce its verdict on August 18 in the trial of four alleged Hezbollah members accused for participating in the assassination of Rafic Hariri.
" For us, it will be as if the decision had not been announced, " he added. " If our brothers are unjustly condemned, as we expect, we will remain attached to their innocence ", continued Hassan Nasrallah, recalling that he had already in the past rejected the decisions of the STL in advance.
Announcement of the verdict on August 18
The announcement of the verdict, originally scheduled for August 7, was postponed to August 18 following the deadly explosion at the port of Beirut ten days ago, which left more than 170 dead and 6,500 injured. Rafic Hariri's son, former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, is expected to travel to The Hague, the Netherlands, to attend the hearing.
Read also: Hariri attack: verdict of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in August
Former Prime Minister and Sunni billionaire Rafic Hariri was killed in February 2005 when a suicide bomber blew up a van full of explosives as his armored convoy passed by on the Beirut waterfront. This attack claimed the lives of 21 other people and left 226 injured. The four defendants, all suspected members of Hezbollah, are being tried in absentia. The Shiite movement, which has rejected all responsibility for the assassination, refused to hand over the suspects despite several arrest warrants issued by the STL.
Hassan Nasrallah warned that " some will try to exploit the STL to target the resistance and Hezbollah " and called on his supporters to " be patient " in case of reactions targeting them in the streets after the statement. of the verdict.