HEADLINE: Tribunal publishes indictment in Hariri murder

CAPTION: The international tribunal investigating the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri has published the indictment against Hezbollah members accused in the attack. (17 August 2011)

VOICE-OVER: English

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

++4:3++

1. Various of immediate aftermath at the scene of the blast that killed Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

The Hague, Netherlands - 17 August 2011

2. Various of pages of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

HANDOUT (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON WEBSITE)

3. STILL of Assad Sabra, suspect

4. STILL of Salim Ayyash, suspect

5. STILL of Hassan Oneissi, suspect

6. STILL of Mustafa Badreddine, suspect

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

++4:3++

7. Various of immediate aftermath at the scene of the blast that killed Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 22 others

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

The Hague, Netherlands - 17 August 2011

8. Page of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 17 August 2011

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohammad Kabbani, Member of Parliament:

"Up till now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut - 14 Feb 2008

+4:3+

10. Various of statue of Rafik Hariri

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 17 August 201

11. Mid of Hariri''s grave

12. Close up of Hariri''s photograph

SCRIPT

The truck bombing back in 2005 had created an inferno that killed Lebanon''s prime minister, Rafik Hariri.

Now a special court in the Netherlands that''s been investigating the assassination has made public the indictment charging four members of Hezbollah in connection with the attack that killed Hariri and 22 others -- a number that includes the suicide bomber.

They include Mustafa Badreddine, who''s also the man believed to have made the bomb that blew up the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 Americans.

Prosecutors acknowledge in the indictment''s preamble that they have no smoking gun linking the suspects to the attack on Hariri despite years of painstaking investigations. The file relies to a large extent on circumstantial evidence, and although it answers many questions one official noted that the full story will only unfold in the courtroom. That''s something member of parliament Mohammad Kabbani looks forward to...

SOT

The Hariri trial may end up taking place without the defendants present, though, as Hezbollah has denied involvement and said it will never turn over the suspects.

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 17 August 201

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1. Street where former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a blast in 2005

2. Sign reading (Arabic) "Place of the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and his comrades"

3. Statue commemorating the assassination

4. Various of Hariri''s grave

5. Close up of Hariri''s photograph

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohammad Kabbani, Member of Parliament:

"We are on the start of a new stage which is the tribunal is going to start its work. Up till now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

7. Kabani walking away

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Faisal, Bierut resident:

"We are supporting the indictment decision and if they are strong enough (refers to Lebanese government) they must arrest the four men."

HANDOUT (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON WEBSITE)

9. STILL of Assad Sabra, suspect

10. STILL of Hassan Oneissi, suspect

11. STILL of Mustafa Badreddine

12. STILL of Salim Ayyash

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

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13. Various of immediate aftermath at the blast scene

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

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14. Various of pages of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

STORYLINE

Prosecutors analyzed a vast network of telephone records to link four Hezbollah members to the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but there was no clear smoking gun in the case, according to an indictment unsealed on Wednesday.

The special court investigating Hariri''s murder unsealed the 47-page indictment against four members of the Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah for alleged involvement in the truck bombing that killed Hariri.

"We are on the start of a new stage which is the tribunal is going to start its work," said Lebanese Member of Parliament Mohammad Kabbani, from the "4th of March Bloc

"Up until now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

The publication comes after the Special Tribunal for Lebanon said last week that Lebanese authorities had been unable to arrest the four suspects or serve them with their indictments, a move that some of the Beirut residents would like to see.

The suspects include Mustafa Badreddine, a Hezbollah commander and the suspected bomb maker who blew up the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut in 1983, killing 241 Americans.

The other suspects are: Salim Ayyash, also known as Abu Salim; Assad Sabra and Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa.

They are accused of involvement in the 14 February 2005 truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others - a number that includes a suicide bomber.

Hezbollah has denied involvement and said it will never turn over the suspects.

Prosecutors acknowledge in the indictment''s preamble that they have no smoking gun linking the suspects to the attack, despite years of painstaking investigations.

The file relies to a large extent on circumstantial evidence "which works logically by inference and deduction," the indictment said.

With Lebanon apparently unable to arrest the suspects, the court - unusually for an international tribunal - could try the suspects in their absence.

The indictment that was released, which has many words and numbers blotted out in black ink, relies substantially on telephone records linking the suspects to the crime.

It alleges that a "red network" of cell phones was used by members of the assassination team.

The phone records showed a flurry of calls shortly before Hariri''s assassination, then they stopped being used two minutes before the explosion and were never used again.

The indictment said the records showed "a coordinated use of these phones to carry out the assassination."

Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has long sought to cast doubt on the security of the Lebanon''s telephone network, however, and he will likely use the tribunal''s evidence to further cast doubt on the court''s claims.

Nasrallah has called the tribunal an Israeli plot against Lebanon.

Lebanese officials have confirmed that Israel has penetrated and has great control over Lebanon''s telecommunications networks.

In 2010, authorities detained two senior employees of one of the country''s two cellular telecommunication companies on suspicion that they were spying for Israel.

They remain in detention several months after their arrest.

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 17 August 201

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1. Street where former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was killed in a blast in 2005

2. Sign reading (Arabic) "Place of the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri and his comrades"

3. Statue commemorating the assassination

4. Various of Hariri''s grave

5. Close up of Hariri''s photograph

6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Mohammad Kabbani, Member of Parliament:

"We are on the start of a new stage which is the tribunal is going to start its work. Up till now we were only having accusations. The trial will start soon. We are backing the tribunal as we did always and we think that it will reach the fact and it will also reach justice."

7. Kabani walking away

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Faisal, Bierut resident:

"We are supporting the indictment decision and if they are strong enough (refers to Lebanese government) they must arrest the four men."

HANDOUT (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON WEBSITE)

9. STILL of Assad Sabra, suspect

10. STILL of Hassan Oneissi, suspect

11. STILL of Mustafa Badreddine

12. STILL of Salim Ayyash

AL MANAR

++PLEASE NOTE AL MANAR IS CONTROLLED BY HEZBOLLAH++

Beirut - 17 August 2011

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13. Wide of audience

14. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic), Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah leader:

"The text in our hands now is based on conclusions and analysis and not on clear evidence. It''s based on circumstantial evidence and is not credible. What we are hearing from the public makes us more convinced that it''s based on politicisation and injustice and accusations. And those honourable resistance fighters should not be called charged, but unjustly treated."

15. Wide of audience

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

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16. Various of immediate aftermath at the blast scene

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

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17. Various of pages of Indictment document issued by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

STORYLINE:

A long-awaited international indictment unsealed on Wednesday offers no direct evidence linking four Hezbollah suspects to the 2005 assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, despite years of painstaking investigations.

The indictment, which relies heavily on circumstantial evidence such as telephone records to link the men to the crime, played into efforts by the powerful Iranian-backed Hezbollah to discredit a case that has consumed and divided Lebanon for more than six years.

"The text in our hands now is based on conclusions and analysis and not on clear evidence," Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech in Beirut on Wednesday.

"Those honourable resistance fighters should not be called charged, but unjustly treated," he added.

Much of the information contained in the indictment had been leaked to the media over the past two years, which Nasrallah said was a sign that the probe was tainted beyond repair.

Lebanon''s most powerful political and military force, Hezbollah has vowed never to turn over the suspects, although a trial may be held in absentia.

The suicide truck bomb that killed Hariri on 14 February 2005 was one of the most dramatic political assassinations in the Middle East.

A billionaire businessman, Hariri was Lebanon''s most prominent politician after the 15-year civil war ended in 1990.

In the six years since his death, the investigation has sharpened some of Lebanon''s most intractable issues: the role of Hezbollah, which commands an arsenal far greater than the national army, and the country''s dark history of sectarian divisions and violence.

Hariri was one of Lebanon''s most powerful Sunni leaders; Hezbollah is a Shiite group.

Prosecutors analysed a vast network of telephone records to link the "assassination team" to the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22

others, according to the 47-page indictment.

Investigators tracked the movements of the suspects using their phones'' locations as recorded by cell phone towers.

The indictment says the records showed "a coordinated use of these phones to carry out the assassination."

According to the records, there was a flurry of calls shortly before Hariri''s murder, but they stopped two minutes before the explosion.

The phones were never used again.

The indictment also says the assassins tracked Hariri''s movements over several weeks to establish the routes and movements of his convoy and the location of his vehicle in it.

On the day of the murder, they detonated some 2,500 kilograms (5,510 pounds) of explosives packed into a Mitsubishi van parked near a hotel along Beirut''s Mediterranean waterfront.

Prosecutors acknowledge in the indictment''s preamble that they have no direct evidence linking the suspects to the attack.

The file relies to a large extent on circumstantial evidence "which works logically by inference and deduction," the indictment said.

SHOTLIST:

Beirut - 30 June 2011

++16:9++

1. Wide exterior of Justice Palace

2. Mid of Justice Palace sign

3. Mid of media outside the Justice Palace

4. Set up of Future Movement bloc Member of Parliament, Atef Majdalani

5. Photograph of Majdalani with Saad Hariri, son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Atef Majdalani, Future Movement bloc MP:

"We consider the release of the indictment today is part of our martyr's rights, and this indictment is the first step to achieve the truth then justice in order to stabilise Lebanon."

FILE: Beirut - 14 February 2005

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7. Various of explosion site where Rafik Hariri was killed

FILE: Beirut - 2004

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8. Various of Rafik Hariri giving a speech

STORYLINE:

A U.N.-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri delivered an indictment and four arrest warrants Thursday, the latest turn in a case that has transformed this Arab nation and brought down the government earlier this year.

The names of the accused were not released, but the court has been expected to accuse members of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Many fear that could lead to street protests and plunge the violence-wracked

country back into a new crisis.

The long-awaited indictment was confirmed by the office of Hariri's son, Saad.

According to tribunal rules, Lebanese authorities now have 30 days to serve the indictments on suspects or execute arrest warrants. If they fail, the court can then order the indictment published and advertised in local media.

Saad Hariri also served as Lebanon's prime minister. But he was forced from office in January, when Hezbollah and its allies toppled his government in a conflict over the tribunal.

The group, which is also backed by Syria, fiercely denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal is a conspiracy by Israel and the United

States.

The dispute over the investigation encapsulates Lebanon's most explosive conflicts: the role of Hezbollah, the country's most powerful political and military force; the country's dark history of sectarian divisions and violence; and Lebanon's fraught relationship with neighbouring Syria.

Rafik Hariri was killed along with 22 other people in a massive truck bombing along Beirut's waterfront on February 14, 2005.

The indictment raises concerns of a possible resurgence of violence that has blighted this tiny Arab country of four million people for years, including a devastating 1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008.

SHOTLIST

1. Wide pan of meeting

2. Various of meeting

3. Nohad al-Mashnouq, Future Bloc member of parliament, greeting people

3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nohad al-Mashnouq, Future bloc member of parliament:

"I demand that Hezbollah ministers step down from the cabinet until the truth is revealed."

4. Audience listening

STORYLINE

A Lebanese lawmaker on Sunday demanded that Hezbollah ministers step down from the cabinet following an indictment of four members of the Shiite militant group over the 2005 murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Future Movement member of parliament Nohad al-Mashnouq was speaking at a meeting in the capital Beirut.

But Hezbollah's leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday vowed never to turn over the four, saying in a defiant speech that "even in 300 years" authorities will not be able to touch them.

The indictments were announced on Thursday.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon - the UN-backed court tasked with bringing to justice those involved in Hariri's assassination has handed Lebanon's state prosecutor indictments and Lebanon has 30 days to carry out the arrest warrants.

Nasrallah denounced the six-year investigation as a plot by Israel and the United States.

Hezbollah, which gets crucial support from Iran and Syria, has denied any role in the killing and accused the UN-backed tribunal of doing Israel's bidding.

The accusations that Hezbollah - the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon - had a role in the 2005 Beirut truck bombing that killed Rafik Hariri has the potential to plunge Lebanon into a new and violent crisis.

Hezbollah has amassed unprecedented political clout in the government this year, having toppled the previous administration in January when then-Prime Minister Saad Hariri - the slain prime minister's son - refused to renounce the tribunal investigating his father's death.

The new premier, Najib Mikati, was Hezbollah's pick for the post.

He issued a vague promise on Thursday that Lebanon would respect international resolutions as long as they did not threaten civil peace.

The ambiguous wording leaves ample room to brush aside the arrest warrants if street battles are looming.

The cabinet is packed with Hezbollah allies, so there is little enthusiasm within the current leadership to press forward with the case.

Even if Saad Hariri were still in power, however, it's unlikely he would be able to force Lebanese authorities to arrest the men - to do so, they would have to directly confront a well-armed militant group that wields serious power over the Lebanese state.

The bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on 14 February, 2005, was one of the most dramatic political assassinations in the Middle East.

A (b) billionaire businessman, Hariri was Lebanon's most prominent politician after the 15-year civil war ended in 1990.

In the six years since his death, the investigation has sharpened some of Lebanon's most intractable issues: the role of Hezbollah and its massive arsenal, and the country's dark history of sectarian divisions and violence.

Rafik Hariri was one of Lebanon's most powerful Sunni leaders; Hezbollah is a Shiite group.

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide exterior of Prime Ministers' office

2. Close-up of Lebanese flag

3. Wide of Lebanese prime minister Najib Mikati before news conference

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Najib Mikati, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"After years of waiting, the International General Prosecutor issued an indictment and showed information that was gathered by the international investigations and accused members of being involved in the crime."

5. Cutaway Lebanese flag

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Najib Mikati, Lebanese Prime Minister:

"We are today in front of a new reality that requests a wise approach and putting the supreme interest of the country, civil peace, our national unity and knowing the truth above all concerns. So we will deal with responsibility and reality with this incident, starting from that the accusations whatever its sources are not verdicts and the accusations need real and undoubted proves and any accused person is innocent until its accusation is proved."

7. Wide of news conference

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's prime minister Najib Mikati said national unity, peace and truth should trump all other concerns, after a United Nations-backed court investigating the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri delivered an indictment and four arrest warrants on Thursday.

The UN tribunal's decision marks the latest turn in a case that has transformed this Arab nation and brought down the government earlier this year.

At a news conference in Beirut, Mikati said it demanded "a wise approach and putting the supreme interest of the country, civil peace, our national unity and knowing the truth above all concerns."

The names of the accused were not released, but a Lebanese official said at least one member of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah is among those indicted.

The official saw the arrest warrants that were issued on Thursday and gave the names to The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

One of the people named is Mustafa Badr-Eddine, believed to have been Hezbollah's deputy military commander.

He is the brother-in-law of the late Hezbollah military commander Imad Mughniyeh.

Many fear the indictment of Hezbollah members could lead to street protests and plunge the violence-wracked country back into a new crisis.

The long-awaited indictment was confirmed by the office of Hariri's son, Saad.

According to tribunal rules, Lebanese authorities now have 30 days to serve the indictments on suspects or execute arrest warrants.

If they fail, the court can then order the indictment published and advertised in local media.

Saad Hariri also served as Lebanon's prime minister, but he was forced from office in January, when Hezbollah and its allies toppled his government in a conflict over the tribunal.

The group, which is also backed by Syria, fiercely denies any role in the killing and says the tribunal is a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

The dispute over the investigation encapsulates Lebanon's most explosive conflicts: the role of Hezbollah, the country's most powerful political and military force; the country's dark history of sectarian divisions and violence; and Lebanon's fraught relationship with neighbouring Syria.

Rafik Hariri was killed along with 22 other people in a massive truck bombing along Beirut's waterfront on February 14, 2005.

The indictment raises concerns of a possible resurgence of violence that has blighted this tiny Arab country of four million people for years, including a devastating 1975-1990 civil war and sectarian battles between Sunnis and Shiites in 2008.

SHOTLIST:

1. Wide exterior of Lebanese parliament

2. Close of Lebanese flag

3. Wide interior of Lebanese parliament in session

4. Various of Lebanese members of parliament (MPs)

5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Marwan Hamadeh, Lebanese Member of Parliament: ++includes various cutaways of parliament++

"No, Mr. Prime Minister Mikati, your friend Hariri wasn't just martyred. He was assassinated with two tons of explosives, along with him, your colleagues, your friends and your citizens. For them, you have a holy responsibility that will follow you, will chase you, forever and ever. The worst series of the worst crimes in the history of Lebanon is being treated with irreverence, without investigation, without question and without punishment, and now after 30 years it is on the precipice of being solved, and its executors, God willing, and those who ordered it, will be known."

6. Close of Prime Minister Najib Mikati

7. Mid of MPs

STORYLINE:

Lebanon's parliament began three days of contentious debate on Tuesday, over the government's response to UN-backed indictments which accuse four Hezbollah members of involvement in the 2005 murder of former prime minister Rafik Hariri.

In parliament on Tuesday, MP Marwan Hamadeh told Lebanon's new Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, that he had "a holy responsibility that will follow you, will chase you, forever and ever" to bring Hariri's killers to justice.

Hamadeh himself was injured in a car bomb explosion on October 1, 2004 that killed his driver and injured his bodyguard.

The blast is considered to have been the beginning of a series of assassinations of Lebanese politicians and journalists, one of which claimed the life of Rafik Hariri.

Tuesday's session in Beirut pitted Lebanon's rival factions against each other. Hezbollah and its allies are on one side, and a Western-backed coalition led by Hariri's son, Saad, is on the other.

On Monday, Saad Hariri accused Mikati of bowing to pressure from Hezbollah, which is refusing to turn over four members indicted by the UN-backed tribunal for the truck bombing that killed the Lebanese statesman in 2005.

Mikati fired back, suggesting Saad Hariri - himself a former prime minister - was trying to exploit his father's death for political gain and tear apart the country.

The implication of the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah in one of Lebanon's most stunning crimes threatens to bring a new and violent crisis in this Arab nation on Israel's northern border.

The Shiite militant group denies any role in the killing and vows never to turn over any of its members.

STORYLINE

The prosecutor of the United Nations tribunal set up to bring to justice the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri filed the first indictment in the case on Monday, the court announced.

Details of suspects named in the indictment and the charges against them were not released.

Hariri was killed along with 22 other people by a huge truck bomb blast on February the 14th, 2005, on Beirut's Mediterranean sea front.

Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Shiite militant group Hezbollah, said last year he expects members of his group to be indicted, a move that many fear could re-ignite sectarian violence that has erupted repeatedly in the tiny nation.

The Iranian and Syrian-sponsored group fiercely denies any role in the killing.

Hariri was a Sunni, and many Lebanese worry that if the tribunal draws links between the assassination and Hezbollah it could provoke bloodshed between Lebanon's Shiite and Sunni communities.

Tribunal registrar Herman van Hebel said in a statement that prosecutor Daniel Bellemare sent the indictments to Judge Daniel Fransen, who must decide whether to confirm or dismiss them or ask for more evidence.

A billionaire businessman, Hariri was credited with rebuilding Lebanon after its 15-year civil war ended in 1990.

Fransen is expected to take six to 10 weeks studying the evidence before reaching a decision.

The names of suspects and evidence against them will only be released if he decides the evidence is strong enough to merit putting them on trial.

News of the indictment came as Lebanon's government has been plunged into turmoil by the resignation last week of Hezbollah and its allies from a broad coalition administration led by Hariri's son, Saad, who remains as caretaker prime minister until a new government is formed.

Hezbollah quit the government after Saad Hariri refused to renounce the UN-backed tribunal investigating his father's killing.

SHOTLIST:

+16:9+

1. Mid of website Special Tribunal for Lebanon showing indictment

+16:9+

++NIGHT SHOTS

Beirut, Lebanon - 17th January 2011

2. Wide of traffic near the Prime minister's office

3. Mid of traffic

4. VOXPOP (Arabic), Mohammad Ghalayini, voxpop:

"I do support the truth but I do not know exactly what is in the indictment. I do not know if it is politically biased or not. Some are saying it is but I am with the truth."

5. Mid of traffic

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Name not given, voxpop:

"I am with the arrest of the assassins of the Late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, but I need the power to be back with the Lebanese judiciary system because there is no more justice in Lebanon. It is all politically biased."

+16:9+

Beirut, Lebanon - 15th January 2011

7. Various of Hariri's grave

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File

Beirut, Lebanon - 14th February 2005

8. Wide of bomb blast scene

9. Various firefighters trying to put flames out

10. Mid bystanders carry injured person away on stretcher

11. Wide of scene

12. Various of crater caused by blast

13. Mid firefighters at scene

14. Firefighters carry person away on stretcher

15. Various of smoke plumes caused by explosion

SHOTLIST

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, the Netherlands

1. Exterior of Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) building

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

Leidschendam, the Netherlands

2. Various of STL courtroom

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Bellemare, prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

"According to the rules of the tribunal I cannot reveal either the charges or the names of the person or persons referred in the indictment. This continued confidentiality is essential as I cannot presume that the pre-trial judge will confirm the indictment."

4. Various of STL courtroom

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Daniel Bellemare, prosecutor of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

"This indictment is not only a first step on the road to ending impunity in Lebanon, it is also the first step of our judicial process. Any person or persons named in the indictment are presumed innocent. And even after the indictment is confirmed by the pre-trial judge, if it is, the person or persons whose identity is contained in the document are still presumed innocent. This means that the prosecution will have to prove before a trial court, and beyond reasonable doubt, that they are guilty. If there is a reasonable doubt, the accused will be acquitted."

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon

6. Various of army in a military vehicle in traffic

7. Various top shots of of Lebanese army jeep and troops

8. A group of Lebanese soldiers

9. A jeep and troops on the side of the road

10. Lebanese army jeep and soldiers standing by

11. Mid of two soldiers

12. Mid of traffic

13. Tilt down of newspapers headlines

14. Newspaper's headline reading (English) "Bellmare sets tribunal process in motion"

15. Wide of newspapers stand

16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Reem Sfeir, Beirut resident:

"Definitely we need the truth, we do not want the country to stay in a mess."

17. Various of Lebanese army soldier

18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Edmond (no last name given) Beirut resident:

"The International Tribunal protects everyone from assassination, it is very important for us and if there is no punishment for the criminals it (assassinations) will keep going."

19. Mid of traffic near Al-Amin mosque

20. Various of Hariri grave

21. Close of Hariri portrait

STORYLINE:

The prosecutor who filed his first indictment in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri hailed the move Tuesday as a landmark in efforts to end impunity for political slayings in the strife-torn country.

Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said in a video statement that the confidential indictment at the UN-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon was an important moment for the people of Lebanon, the international community and "for those who believe in international justice."

Bellemare made the statement the day after he announced he had handed the indictment to the court's pre-trial judge Daniel Fransen for confirmation.

The statement appeared aimed at cooling tensions in Lebanon, where many people fear the charges could lead to fresh violence.

"This indictment is not only a first step on the road to ending impunity in Lebanon, it is also the first step of our judicial process," Bellemare said.

Many people expect members of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah to be identified in Bellemare's indictment.

Hezbollah has denied any involvement in the February 14, 2005, truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on Beirut's Mediterranean sea front.

The Iran- and Syria-sponsored Hezbollah calls the tribunal a conspiracy by Israel and the United States.

The contents of the draft indictment filed on Monday were not revealed and may not become public for weeks as Belgian judge Fransen decides whether there is enough evidence for a trial.

Bellemare urged Lebanese people not to speculate about the contents of the indictment as Fransen may still reject it or demand more evidence before confirming the indictment and publishing its contents.

A public guessing game about who Bellemare would indict and a dispute over whether the government in Beirut should support the tribunal has stoked political turmoil in Lebanon that boiled over last week when Hezbollah toppled the Western-backed administration of Hariri's son, Saad.

LEAD IN:

Lebanon's Al-Jadeed television network, which has been handed down a mixed verdict over its coverage of the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, has branded the result "confusing."

A UN-backed tribunal on Friday cleared Al-Jadeed and its deputy news director Karma Khayat of obstructing justice.

But Khayat was found guilty of contempt of court.

STORY-LINE:

It's business as usual at Lebanese news station, Al-Jadeed Television.

It has been been two days since the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon delivered its verdict, acquitting the station of obstructing justice in relation to the investigation into the 2005 killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

At the same time, however, the court convicted the station's deputy news director, Karma Khayat, for not removing identities of confidential witnesses in the long-running probe.

Khayat was found guilty of contempt of court, by ignoring a UN court order to take down the 2012 broadcasts from the station's website.

The witnesses were never named and were heavily pixellated in interviews, but prosecutors had said there was enough information to make them easily identifiable.

On Friday, presiding judge Nicola Lettieri said: "I find both accused not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 1of the 'Amended Order in Lieu of Indictment'; find the accused Ms Karma Khayat guilty and the accused Al Jadeed TV not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 2 of the Amended Order in Lieu of Indictment. "

"With respect to Ms Khayat, I concluded that she violated the 10 August 2012 order. I thus have to determine whether she qualified at the relevant time as one of the natural persons whose conduct could be attributed to Al-Jadeed TV," he added.

The case has sparked debate in Lebanon about press freedom.

Ibrahim Al-Halabi, adminstrative manager of Al-Jadeed TV, says he is confused by the ruling.

"The issue of the trial was the threat and damage that could affect the witnesses through the report. During the trial this was not confirmed and the tribunal confessed that none of the witnesses were affected, so the resolution was confusing.

"Why was the resolution confusing? It seems that they were not able to condemn Al-Jadeed station, and also Karma, so they set such resolution to save the tribunal."

Khayat is scheduled to be sentenced on 28 September, but her lawyers say they will appeal the verdict.

She faces a fine or jail sentence.

"We'll appeal, the one conviction of Ms Karma Khaya that she said, the judge found that she did not take off from the website the broadcast, which the judge found that was not criminal of any event. But overall for Al Jadeed is important, this is the case that we say should never have been brought against the company," explains lawyer Karim Khan.

"It's a legal novelty, it is a judicial innovation and the judge has found that there was no evidence that out of the ten or eleven people broadcast, three individuals identity became known, of course, the names were not given, their faces were pixelated, but critically the judge found that there is no evidence that their confidence in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon had been undermined in any way."

"And for that reason the company has been completely acquitted of any criminal wrongdoing."

Legislators and public figures in Lebanon have expressed solidarity with the network in recent months, and many Lebanese journalists see the trial as an attack on media freedom.

And on the streets of Beirut, there's little solidarity with the tribunal.

Political analyst, Sarkis Abu Zaid, believes the tribunal lacks a heavy punch.

"The process of the trial and the verdict shows that the International Tribunal is lacking the minimum of sobriety and seriousness. It proves that this tribunal is something folkloric and not serious, it is lacking the techniques and it's resolution is very weak and superficial."

Beirut resident Riyad Al-Rayyes says many Lebanese support the tribunal.

"We Lebanese support the Tribunal, but it should be just and (conducted) away from political intervention. With respect to Al-Jadeed and Karma Khayat, who is in charge of Al-Jadeed station, I think there is something wrong so I hope the International Tribunal will review the resolution of Al-Jadeed and Karma Khayat."

Al-Jadeed is a secular TV station based in Beirut that has managed to anger political groups in the past as well as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

It's one of the most popular TV stations in Lebanon and it usually airs live speeches and news conference of politicians in the country no matter to what group they belong. It was a pioneer in Lebanon of revealing corruption cases in the past.

Hariri was assassinated in central Beirut in 2005 in one of the Middle East's most dramatic political assassinations, but a UN-backed tribunal into his death only began in 2014.

Four Hezbollah members were charged in 2011 but have not been arrested, and so are being tried in absentia at the UN court.

Hezbollah denies involvement, and the group's leader has denounced the court as a conspiracy by the US and Israel.

LEAD IN:

Lebanon's Al-Jadeed television network, which has been handed down a mixed verdict over its coverage of the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, has branded the result "confusing."

A UN-backed tribunal on Friday cleared Al-Jadeed and its deputy news director Karma Khayat of obstructing justice.

But Khayat was found guilty of contempt of court.

STORY-LINE:

It's business as usual at Lebanese news station, Al-Jadeed Television.

It has been been two days since the UN Special Tribunal for Lebanon delivered its verdict, acquitting the station of obstructing justice in relation to the investigation into the 2005 killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.

At the same time, however, the court convicted the station's deputy news director, Karma Khayat, for not removing identities of confidential witnesses in the long-running probe.

Khayat was found guilty of contempt of court, by ignoring a UN court order to take down the 2012 broadcasts from the station's website.

The witnesses were never named and were heavily pixellated in interviews, but prosecutors had said there was enough information to make them easily identifiable.

On Friday, presiding judge Nicola Lettieri said: "I find both accused not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 1of the 'Amended Order in Lieu of Indictment'; find the accused Ms Karma Khayat guilty and the accused Al Jadeed TV not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 2 of the Amended Order in Lieu of Indictment. "

"With respect to Ms Khayat, I concluded that she violated the 10 August 2012 order. I thus have to determine whether she qualified at the relevant time as one of the natural persons whose conduct could be attributed to Al-Jadeed TV," he added.

The case has sparked debate in Lebanon about press freedom.

Ibrahim Al-Halabi, adminstrative manager of Al-Jadeed TV, says he is confused by the ruling.

"The issue of the trial was the threat and damage that could affect the witnesses through the report. During the trial this was not confirmed and the tribunal confessed that none of the witnesses were affected, so the resolution was confusing.

"Why was the resolution confusing? It seems that they were not able to condemn Al-Jadeed station, and also Karma, so they set such resolution to save the tribunal."

Khayat is scheduled to be sentenced on 28 September, but her lawyers say they will appeal the verdict.

She faces a fine or jail sentence.

"We'll appeal, the one conviction of Ms Karma Khaya that she said, the judge found that she did not take off from the website the broadcast, which the judge found that was not criminal of any event. But overall for Al Jadeed is important, this is the case that we say should never have been brought against the company," explains lawyer Karim Khan.

"It's a legal novelty, it is a judicial innovation and the judge has found that there was no evidence that out of the ten or eleven people broadcast, three individuals identity became known, of course, the names were not given, their faces were pixelated, but critically the judge found that there is no evidence that their confidence in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon had been undermined in any way."

"And for that reason the company has been completely acquitted of any criminal wrongdoing."

Legislators and public figures in Lebanon have expressed solidarity with the network in recent months, and many Lebanese journalists see the trial as an attack on media freedom.

And on the streets of Beirut, there's little solidarity with the tribunal.

Political analyst, Sarkis Abu Zaid, believes the tribunal lacks a heavy punch.

"The process of the trial and the verdict shows that the International Tribunal is lacking the minimum of sobriety and seriousness. It proves that this tribunal is something folkloric and not serious, it is lacking the techniques and it's resolution is very weak and superficial."

Beirut resident Riyad Al-Rayyes says many Lebanese support the tribunal.

"We Lebanese support the Tribunal, but it should be just and (conducted) away from political intervention. With respect to Al-Jadeed and Karma Khayat, who is in charge of Al-Jadeed station, I think there is something wrong so I hope the International Tribunal will review the resolution of Al-Jadeed and Karma Khayat."

Al-Jadeed is a secular TV station based in Beirut that has managed to anger political groups in the past as well as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

It's one of the most popular TV stations in Lebanon and it usually airs live speeches and news conference of politicians in the country no matter to what group they belong. It was a pioneer in Lebanon of revealing corruption cases in the past.

Hariri was assassinated in central Beirut in 2005 in one of the Middle East's most dramatic political assassinations, but a UN-backed tribunal into his death only began in 2014.

Four Hezbollah members were charged in 2011 but have not been arrested, and so are being tried in absentia at the UN court.

Hezbollah denies involvement, and the group's leader has denounced the court as a conspiracy by the US and Israel.

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 20 September 2015

++16:9++

1. Tilt down of Al-Jadeed TV building

2. Close of sign reading (Arabic): "Al-Jadeed Television"

3. Pan of Al-Jadeed newsroom

4. Mid of newsperson working at computer

5. Ibrahim Halabi, Adminstrative manager of Al-Jadeed TV, entering his office

6. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic), Ibrahim Al-Halabi, Adminstrative Manager, Al-Jadeed TV:

"The issue of the trial was the threat and damage that could affect the witnesses through the report. During the trial this was not confirmed and the tribunal confessed that none of the witnesses were affected, so the resolution was confusing. Why was the resolution confusing? It seems that they were not able to condemn Al-Jadeed station, and also Karma, so they set such a resolution to save the tribunal."

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON HANDOUT

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 18 September 2015

++4:3++

7. Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) opening session with Presiding Judge Nicola Lettieri, walking into courtroom ++MUTE++

8. Wide of STL courtroom and the prosecution team

9. Mid of the defence team of accused TV station Al-Jadeed and deputy news director, Karma Khayat

10. Wide of courtroom

11. Mid of two members of legal team

12 . SOUNDBITE: (English) Nicola Lettieri, presiding judge:

++PLEASE NOTE: SOUNDBITE IS PARTIALLY OVERLAID WITH SHOTS FROM THE COURT++

"I find both accused not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 1of the 'Amended Order in Lieu of Indictment'; find the accused Ms Karma Khayat guilty and the accused Al Jadeed TV not guilty with respect to the charges under Count 2 of the Amended Order in Lieu of Indictment. "

13. Wide of defence team

14. Various of the courtroom

15 . SOUNDBITE: (English) Nicola Lettieri, presiding judge

++PLEASE NOTE: SOUNDBITE BEGINS UNDER SHOTS FROM THE COURT++

"With respect to Ms Khayat, I concluded that she violated the 10 August 2012 order. I thus have to determine whether she qualified at the relevant time as one of the natural persons whose conduct could be attributed to Al-Jadeed TV."

16. Wide of the courtroom

17. Wide of the court session ending and Judge Nicola Lettieri leaving the courtroom ++PART MUTE++

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 18 September 2015

++16:9++

18. Mid of Karim Khan, lawyer representing Al-Jadeed and Karma Khayat

19. SOUNDBITE: (English) Karim Khan, a lawyer representing Al-Jadeed Television and Karma Khayat:

"We'll appeal, the one conviction of Ms Karma Khaya that she, it said, the judge found that she did not take off from a website the broadcast, which the judge found that was not criminal of any event. But overall for Al-Jadeed is important, this is the case that we say should never have been brought against the company. It's a legal novelty, it is a judicial innovation and the judge has found that there was no evidence that out of the ten or eleven people broadcast, three individuals identity became known, of course, the names were not given, their faces were pixellated, but critically the judge found that there is no evidence that their confidence in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon had been undermined in any way. And for that reason the company has been completely acquitted of any criminal wrongdoing."

20. Mid of Karim Khan

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON HANDOUT

FILE: Leidschendam, Netherlands - exact date unknown

++4:3++

20. Mid of trial ++MUTE++

21. Karma Khayat speaking to the court ++MUTE++

AP TELEVISION

Beirut, Lebanon - 20 September 2015

++16:9++

22. Traffic

23. Pedestrians walking

24. People sitting in a coffee shop

25. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Sarkis Abu Zaid, Political analyst:

"The process of the trial and the verdict shows that the International Tribunal is lacking even the minimum of sobriety and seriousness. It proves that this tribunal is something folkloric and not serious, it is lacking the techniques and its resolution is very weak and superficial."

26. People seated at tables outside coffee shop

27. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Riyad Al-Rayyes, Beirut resident:

"We Lebanese support the Tribunal, but it should be just and (conducted) away from political intervention. With respect to Al-Jadeed and Karma Khayat, who is in charge of Al-Jadeed station, I think there is something wrong so I hope the International Tribunal will review the resolution of Al-Jadeed and Karma Khayat."

28.Traffic