STL Trial Chamber adjourns its hearing until 27 January

Presiding judge of the Trial Chamber at the Special tribunal for Lebanon, David Re, adjourned the hearing of the STL trial until 2 PM (CET) of Monday 27 January 2014.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon heard on Friday more testimonies of witnesses one day after the defense team of four Hezbollah suspects said there was no evidence on the use of an explosives-laden Mitsubishi van to target the convoy of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005.

Several witnesses appeared before the court on Friday.

Nazih Abou Rjaileh, the brother of Zahi Abou Rjaileh, who was killed in the attack was among the witnesses.

He spoke from Beirut via video conference.

Nazih said that his brother's body was found the next day, lamenting that he died 12 hours after the explosion.

Another witness appeared before court but his identity was kept under wraps. He was referred to through a code as Witness PRH 352.

The court said that the witness falls under the STL's witness protection program.

Witness Robyn Fraser, who had worked for the STL Office of Prosecution between August 2009 and August 2011, gave her testimony on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon was set up by the United Nations at the Lebanese government's request to try the alleged perpetrators of the 2005 bombing in which former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others were killed.

The suspects - Mustafa Amine Badreddine, a senior Hezbollah figure and brother-in-law of slain Hezbollah commander Imad Moughniyeh, Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hussein Hassan Oneissi and Assad Hassan Sabra - remain at large.