Special Tribunal Moves Toward Trial In Absentia
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Sir David Baragwanath, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, said that a trial in absentia for the accused killers of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could be the best outcome.
In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Sir David Baragwanath, President of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, said that a trial in absentia for the four suspects in the murder of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, scheduled for March 25, 2013, may be the best outcome for Lebanon.
It is the first time since the Nuremburg trial of Nazi war criminals after World War II that an international court would conduct an “in absentia” trial.
Baragwanath said that an absentia trial can actually give the accused more rights, because of a right to retrial at any time:
“The accused may view from a distance the trial in absentia, see how it turns out, and then if the accused then appears, the accused has the right to insist on a retrial. That’s a right that’s not available in other circumstances.”
