The special tribunal of Lebanon convicts a member of Hezbollah

Shafaq News / The Special tribunal for Lebanon ruled, on Tuesday, to convict Salim Ayyash, 56, a member of the Lebanese party "Hezbollah", of five charges related to the assassination of the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, while three defendants were acquitted.

The prosecution list said that Ayyash, who is a military official in Hezbollah, led the assassination and was "responsible for the cell that carried out the assassination and participated personally in the execution".

Judge "David Re" read out the verdict to convict Ayyach with five charges, which are: conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, the commission of a terrorist act using an explosive device, the premeditated murder of Rafik Hariri and 21 people, the deliberate attempt to kill 226 people and the deliberate assassination of Rafik Hariri.

The court's decision held that the defendants, Hasan Habib Merhi, Asad Hasan Sabra, and Hussein Hasan Onaysi, were not guilty of all the charges against them on the list.

In September 2019, the International Court indicted Ayyash with two charges of "terrorism and murder" for his participation in three other attacks targeting politicians between 2004 and 2005.

The first attack, in 2004, targeted the former minister, Marwan Hamadeh, seriously wounding him. An attack in 2005 killed the former Secretary-General of the Lebanese Communist Party, George Hawi, and the last attack targeted the former Defense Minister Elias Murr, wounding him.