Ban Ki-moon Extends Mandate of Special Tribunal for Lebanon for Three Years

UNITED NATIONS, January 2 (Sputnik) — UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced Friday that he extended the mandate of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) for a period of three years from March 1, 2015.

According to the statement issued by the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon “reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to support the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon to bring those responsible to justice and to ensure that impunity for such major crimes will not be tolerated.”

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon has been established by the United Nations upon the December 13, 2005 request by the Lebanese Government to undertake a prosecution of those responsible for the attack of February 14, 2005 in Beirut which killed 22 people, including the former prime minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri.

The Tribunal officially opened on March 1, 2009. Since then, five accused have been indicted over the high-profile assassination. The STL is currently trying four accused people in absentia.