Lebanon tense following release of UN indictment

The Canadian prosecutor who filed his first indictment in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has hailed the move as a landmark in efforts to end impunity for political slayings in the country. Secrecy still surrounds the contents of the UN filed indictment into the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri which was released on Monday evening.

The indictment, confirmed by the international court's headquarters in the Hague, is the latest turn in a deepening political crisis in Lebanon. Only last week Hezbollah toppled the government in a dispute over the tribunal.

Professor of political science at St. Joseph’s university in Beirut, Kalil Karam says there is uncertainty over when the sealed contents of the indictment will be released. Speaking on Tuesday, the prosecutor who filed the indictment hailed the move as a landmark in efforts to end impunity for political slayings in the country.

News of its release brought Hezbollah supporters out into the streets of Beirut prompting several schools to close as nervous parents pulled their children from class. Professor Karam says the situation is tense.

Hezbollah fiercely denies any role in the killing of Rafik Hariri and says the tribunal, jointly funded by U.N. member states and Lebanon, is a conspiracy. Many fear the crisis could lead to street protests and the kind of violence that has engulfed the country over the years, promoting Turkey's foreign minister and Qatar's prime minister to visit Beirut to discuss the political crisis. Listen