Time of escaping Punishment, time of concealing the truth, and time of lack of justice, are all over.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon confirmed this tripartite:
Truth, justice, punishment. After the accused, Salim Ayyash, of the assassination of Martyr Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, the court has overturned the acquittal of Merhi and Oneissi, and declared both of them guilty beyond reasonable doubt, in relation to the following crimes: a conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act; Interfering with the crime of committing a terrorist act, interfering with the crime of intentional murder, and interfering with the crime of premeditated attempted murder.
Following the conviction of Merhi and Oneissi, the Appeals Chamber also issued an arrest warrants against them.
The procedures for determining the penalty for Marei and Oneisy will begin, and after the parties deposit their memoranda, the Appeals Chamber will announce the penalty in a public session, and issue a judgment determining the penalty.
And thus, a year and a half after the conviction of Salim Ayyash for his involvement in the terrorist attack, the verdict was issued to convict his “companions” Merhi and Oneissi.
What will follow this ruling, should not be the same as before it at all, especially in terms of Hezbollah’s situation regarding this terrorist issue. After the court’s triangular side and names’ ruling , the title will be: “Hezbollah killed Rafik Hariri.”
And the biggest danger after the ruling is issued, is how will Hezbollah deal with the ruling? How will the Lebanese parties deal with it? At the cabinet table, how will they sit with Hezbollah members? Before the court’s ruling, it was said that the accusations were political, and the political accusation was worthless, or at least untenable, but after the ruling was issued by the highest international court for Lebanon, this ruling is no longer a “point of view.”
The ball, after this ruling, is in the courts of the Lebanese government and Hezbollah. In the hands of the Lebanese government first, because it is supposed to find the fleeing terrorists. In the hands of Hezbollah, because the accused are affiliated to it, and their concealment is a disgrace that adds to the stigma of committing the crime of assassination.
It will no longer be useful for Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah to say: “We have saints, and we have no criminals.”
But, since when does the court try “saints”?