Spotlight on the difficult task facing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

(Vatican Radio) The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the first international tribunal to prosecute a crime of terrorism and faces a highly difficult task in a country with rising sectarian tensions. Its primary mandate is to hold trials for the people accused of carrying the attack in 2005 which killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 other people. The tribunal has named the four suspects accused of the crime but so far the Lebanese government has not arrested them. So, given this, what chance will there be to see justice done? To find out more Susy Hodges spoke to Christopher Black, Legal Officer at the Pre-trial chamber of the Tribunal.

Listen to the extended interview with Christopher Roy Black:

Asked whether he believes the Lebanese government will ever be able to arrest the four named suspects, Black acknowledges that the "situation in Lebanon and the wider region" makes this arrest of the suspects "rather more complicated" than it would be in a domestic jurisdiction but nevertheless he remains confident that it will eventually take place.

Speaking about the Tribunal's mandate, Blacks says "we feel very strongly that the majority of the people in Lebanon have an interest and want to see an end, not just to political killings but also to the impunity that the perpetrators of these killings have enjoyed for so long."

So, how optimistic is he that justice will eventually prevail, given the rising sectarian dvisions in Lebanon? Black says he's "very optimistic" and feels there will be "a positive outcome to this trial." "We want to ensure," he continues , "that justice runs its course which sadly has been lacking in Lebanon's recent political history."