LEBANON HARIRI TRIAL

SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS/ SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON HANDOUT  

RESTRICTIONS: AP CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 4:05

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Beirut, Lebanon - 19 September 2018

++16:9++

1. Poster for late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri on a banner reading (Arabic) "Time of Justice"

2. Close of banner

3. Traffic near site where Hariri was killed

4. Mid of torch sculpture

5. Banner reading (Arabic) "Assassination site of Prime Minster Rafic Hariri and his comrades"

6. Political analyst Ali Hamadeh in his office

7. Close of screen showing the Special Tribunal for Lebanon website

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali Hamadeh, political analyst:

"We hope that the role and the existence of this tribunal (Special Tribunal for Lebanon) will be an incentive or a deterrent to repeated political assassinations. But the experience in this region, and not only in Lebanon, tells us that the killing and bloodshed is still going on from Iraq to Lebanon to Syria and to Yemen. Despite the slow pace of the international justice, it may reach at the end its positive results, but the problem is the region is located on the peak of the volcano (figurative, refers to the volatile nature of the region)."

9. Various of Hariri statue

10. Tilt down of Al-Amine Mosque

11. Policeman in front of poster of Hariri

12. Owner of Justicia Centre, Paul Morkos, walking

13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Paul Morkos, owner of Justicia Centre:

"It is expected that a preliminary verdict will be issued at the beginning of the year in January. This verdict could be an improved version of the indictment that was issued a few years ago with some additions that contain circumstantial evidence. It is not apparent today that there is clear, direct and solid proof coupled with this evidence to stop this verdict being the subject of criticism of the indictment which will allow for indiscriminate accusations between the political parties."

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON HANDOUT  

Beirut, Lebanon - 18 September 2018

++4:3++

14. Various of tribunal

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

Barja, Mount Lebanon - 19 September 2018

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15. Retired police general, Ali Al-Hajj, walking in his house

16. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Ali Al-Hajj, retired police general:

"The international tribunal is strongly dependent on the United Nations, and this is its strength, but I can say that the trust of the majority of the people in the international tribunal and its decisions and what is happening in its hallway is missed at local, regional and international levels because at the beginning it relied on the false witnesses, misled investigations and forgery."

17. Close of Al-Hajj's eyes

18. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) General Ali Al-Hajj, retired police general:

"I can see that the path of the international tribunal from the beginning until today is to ignite the strife in Lebanon, to increase the differences between the Lebanese and to exert pressure on them. The aim of all that is to target those who are facing Israel, which is the resistance (Hezbollah)."

ASSOCIATED PRESS - AP CLIENTS ONLY

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 14 February 2005

++4:3++

19. Various of late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri's convoy on fire

LEADIN:

The United Nations backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon is preparing its verdict on the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.

Four members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are being tried in absentia for their suspected involvement in his murder.

STORYLINE:

The streets of Beirut are hung with black banners. Rafic Hariri's face adorns them - "Time of justice" they read.

Fourteen years after Hariri was assassinated, the United Nations backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon is preparing its verdict.

Four members of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah are being tried for their suspected involvement in the murder.

Hezbollah has refused to turn over the four defendants and says it does not recognise the tribunal's authority. So the men are being tried in absentia.

A decision is expected to be reached in 2019.

Syria and its Lebanese allies were accused of the killing Prime Minister Hariri in a massive suicide truck bombing in Beirut in 2005, which also killed 21 others and injured 226 more.

A series of further bombings and assassinations followed. Syria vehemently denies involvement.

Hariri's assassination ignited mass protests and international pressure that forced Syria to withdraw its army from Lebanon after 29 years of control.

Ali Hamadeh, a political analyst at Al-Nahar Newspaper in Lebanon, hopes that the tribunal will put an end to political assassinations in the region.

"But the experience in this region, and not only in Lebanon, tells us that the killing and bloodshed is still going on from Iraq to Lebanon to Syria and to Yemen," he says.

"It may reach at the end its positive results, but the problem is the region is located on the peak of the volcano (figurative, refers to the volatile nature of the region)."

Paul Morkos, the owner of the Justicia legal research centre, expects a preliminary verdict will be issued by January 2019.

"This verdict could be an improved version of the indictment that was issued a few years ago with some additions that contain circumstantial evidence," he says.

Morkos warns of indiscriminate accusations between the Lebanese political parties if there isn't "clear, direct and solid proof" to support the verdict.

In 2009, The International Tribunal ordered the release of four former Lebanese security generals held over the assassination of Prime Minister Hariri.

Among the four generals, who have never been charged, is Ali Al-Hajj, a former Lebanese internal security director general.

Al-Hajj, also a former security officer for Prime Minister Hariri, says the majority of people don't trust the tribunal.

"At the beginning it relied on the false witnesses, misled investigations and forgery."

Al-Hajj has become politically close to Hezbollah in recent years, trying to get into parliament with their support.

He believes the tribunal is deliberately targeting the militant group.

"I can see that the path of the international tribunal from the beginning until today is to ignite the strife in Lebanon, to increase the differences between the Lebanese and to exert pressure on them," he says.

"The aim of all that is to target those who are facing Israel, which is the resistance (Hezbollah)," he says.

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Dozens of supporters of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, uncovered a giant billboard in Beirut on Thursday, just metres (yards) away from the site where Hairiri was killed in a huge bomb blast on February 14, 2005.

The sign, which reads "Time for Justice", was unveiled to coincide with the start of the trial into his assassination at the Hague.

A timer is mounted on top of the billboard to record how many days the tribunal will take.

"We hope that they will achieve the truth in this trial but there are no suspects (present), they are being tried in absentia," said Beirut Resident Mahmoud Najem.

The four main Hezbollah suspects behind the bombing are not at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) in The Netherlands, because they are yet to be arrested.

Hezbollah has denied any involvement in Hariri's assassination and has condemned the trial as a conspiracy by the US and Israel.

Hariri, who also held Saudi citizenship, was one of Lebanon's most influential Sunni leaders, with wide connections in the Arab world and international community.

Hezbollah, a Shiite group, is backed by Shiite Iran.

AP TELEVISION

1. Wide of people removing piece of cloth covering a billboard of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri

2. Mid of billboard with a sign that reads (Arabic) "Time for Justice"

3. Close of clock showing number '1', counting the number of days the trial will take

4. Tilt-down from a billboard to people gathered around sign

5. Wide of people in a cafe watching TV

6. Close of TV showing blast scene

7. Mid pan of people watching TV in cafe

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahmoud Najem, Beirut Resident:

"We hope that they will achieve the truth in this trial but there are no suspects (present), they are being tried in absentia."

9. Wide of Beirut skyline

10. Mid of cars driving down a street

11. Tilt-down of newspaper stand

12. Close of newspaper reading (Arabic) "The Tribunal" and showing a photo of Hariri

13. Mid of man looking at newspaper stand

The trial into the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, began in the Hague on Thursday, nearly nine years after his death.

Hariri and 22 others were killed in a massive truck bomb explosion in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

The four main Hezbollah suspects behind the bombing are being tried in absentia at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), because they are yet to be arrested.

During opening comments, Presiding Judge, David Re, said the defendants are being tried on several charges including "conspiracy to commit a terrorist act" and "premeditated intentional homicide by using explosive materials."

He added that the trial would proceed as if the defendants were present.

The four Hezbollah suspects include Mustafa Badreddine, believed to have been the group's deputy military commander, Salim Ayyash - also known as Abu Salim, Assad Sabra, and Hassan Oneissi, who changed his name to Hassan Issa.

The fifth man to be indicted was Hassan Habib Merhi, who was charged later than the other four suspects and is not officially a suspect in the trial.

"Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hassan Oneissi and Assad Sabra, as the evidence will show, conspired together with others to commit this terrorist act aimed at assassinating the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Mr Rafik Hariri," prosecutor Norman Farrell told the court.

Prosecutors will call upon hundreds of witnesses during the course of the proceedings, which is likely to take months.

Hezbollah has condemned the tribunal as a conspiracy by its archenemies the US and Israel.

It has also denied any involvement in Hariri's assassination.

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, The Netherlands - January 16, 2014

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1. Cars entering the compound for start of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)

2. Exterior of building where tribunal is being held

3. Close of flag of STL tribunal

STL (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON) POOL

++4:3++

Leidschendam, The Netherlands - January 16, 2014

4. Various of courtroom as judges enter for start of tribunal

5. SOUNDBITE (English) David Re, Presiding Judge at Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

"The charges all arise out of the explosion in Beirut on the 14th of February 2005 that killed the former Lebanese Prime Minister Mr. Rafik Hariri and 21 others (excluding the suicide bomber) and injured over 200 people. The charges are of conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, committing a terrorist act by using explosive materials, premeditated intentional homicide by using explosive materials and attempted premeditated intentional homicide by using explosive materials."

6. Wide of Peter Haynes, Lead Legal Representative for the Victims, speaking

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Norman Farrell, STL Prosecutor:

"Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hassan Oneissi and Assad Sabra, as the evidence will show, conspired together with others to commit this terrorist act aimed at assassinating the former Prime Minister of Lebanon Mr Rafik Hariri. The accused, Badreddine and Ayyash with others, prepared and carried out the attack on the 14th of February. The accused, Oneissi and Sabra, assisted them as accomplices."

8. Mid of photo shown in court of February 14 blast

9. Mid of model of Beirut seafront on courtroom floor with defence counsel team sat behind

10. Close of evidence photo showing damaged cars

11. Mid of courtroom

AP TELEVISION

FILE: Beirut - 14 February, 2005

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12. Various of Hariri assassination blast site with burnt out cars and emergency services attempting to control flames

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, The Netherlands - January 16, 2014

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13. Mid exterior of sign for Special Tribunal for Lebanon

14. Wide of media

15. Mid of attendees arriving at the tribunal

16. Mid of a woman holding a banner of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri

SHOTLIST

Beirut - 28 February 2009

1. Wide pan of Beirut cityscape

2. Ein El Mraiseh street, site of explosion that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri

3. Mid of Rafik Hariri statue

4. Mid of damage to building

5. Memorial flame where Hariri was assassinated

6. Set up of Member of Parliament Aatef Majdalani in his office

7. Close of photograph featuring Majdalani and Hariri

8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Aatef Majdalani, Lebanese legislator from the Future Movement bloc:

" The start of the international tribunal is the beginning of the saving of Lebanon and the start of the international tribunal is the beginning of the end of the political assassination."

9. Cutaway Hariri pin on Majdalani's lapel

10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Aatef Majdalani, Lebanese legislator from the Future Movement bloc:

" When the slain Prime Minister President Rafik Hariri was assassinated, the Syrian regime was in Lebanon and Lebanon was under the Syrian hegemony. The entire security was under their hands and that is why the international investigation committee pointed its accusation against the regime. I think that the tribunal should be able to try any suspect or criminal."

11. Tilt down exterior of Al-Amin mosque in central Beirut

12. Sign indicating "1475" days since Hariri's assassination

13. Various of Hariri's grave

14. Wide of Lebanese justice minister, Ibrahim Najjar, in his office

15. Cutaway close-up of Lebanese flag

16. SOUNDBITE (English): Ibrahim Najjar, Lebanese Justice Minister:

" The tribunal will be really independent and I think that, at least as far as Lebanese politicians are concerned, we have no intention whatsoever to interfere with the tribunal and its independence. This is really the way we see the tribunal functioning - with independence and capacity and only in order to find out the truth and to give their verdict."

17. Cutaway camera lens

18. SOUNDBITE (English): Ibrahim Najjar, Lebanese Justice Minister:

" Lebanon has really shocked with too many assassinations. I would say since more than 30 even 40 years. And it is about time now to terminate all that processes. We have to know who did what and this will be very benefit for us."

FILE: Beirut - 14 March 2005

19. Pan across protest crowd, protesters holding Lebanese flags

20. Mid of posters featuring Lebanese security chiefs being held up

Beirut - 28 February 2009

21. Set up of Samar Al-Hajj, wife of detained Brigadier General Ali Hajj

22. Portrait of Brigadier General Ali Hajj

23. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Samar Al-Hajj, Wife of detained Brigadier General Ali Hajj:

" We have been detained illegally for three and a half years. There is no existence for any law that can justify the detention of freedom. The detention is justified by a non-existent authority, in an illegal prison which does not exist on the prisons' map in Lebanon and does not relate to the chief of police as other prisons. If we want to speak legally we should not go to The Hague, otherwise they can take them (the four pro-Syria generals) in an arbitrary way, exceeding all the protocols and keep them there until the end of the parliamentarian elections."

FILE: Beirut - 15 February 2005

24. Various of aftermath of explosion which killed Hariri, firefighters tackling blazing vehicle wreckage

STORYLINE

Investigators have pored over evidence for four years - a human tooth found at the bombing site, a suicide truck that was stolen in Japan and made its way to Lebanon, reams of phone records and hundreds of interviews.

Now the focus in one of the Mideast's most dramatic political assassinations is shifting to prosecution, with the convening on Sunday of an international tribunal on the slaying of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Despite the start of proceedings in the Netherlands, it is still not known who will be accused in the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on a seaside street in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

Also unknown is the most politically explosive question - whether the proceedings will implicate Syria's government, which many Lebanese believe was behind the murder of a man who led opposition to the long Syrian military occupation of Lebanon.

Syria has denied any involvement.

The tribunal was welcomed on Saturday by Lebanese lawmaker Aatef Majdalani, of the Future Movement bloc, who said it would be the saving of Lebanon.

Majdalani said that Syria would be in the spotlight as Lebanon was under the Syrian regime at the time of the assassination.

The United Nations Security Council had to impose the mixed Lebanese-international Special Tribunal after Lebanon's parliament was too divided to approve it.

But Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar insisted that the tribunal would be truly independent.

Most likely the first defendants before the court will be four pro-Syria generals who led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.

They are the only people in custody, though they have not been formally charged.

The wife of one of the four officers detained, Brigadier General Ali Hajj, on Saturday called their detention "illegal".

Some in Lebanon doubt the court will ever bring out the full truth, believing it might avoid digging deep to ensure Syria does not react by stirring up trouble in Lebanon and other parts of the region.

Trials could also further polarise Lebanon's politics, feeding the power struggle between pro- and anti-Syria factions.

Administrators have said the tribunal will take up to five years to finish its work, and the top UN prosecutor, Daniel Bellemare of Canada, said in a statement on Saturday that it will be thorough.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.

In a country known for political assassinations, his killing stands out for its far-reaching impact and set off huge anti-Syrian street protests in Lebanon and intense international pressure which forced Damascus to withdraw all its troops from Lebanon a few months later, ending nearly three decades of military domination.

But his death also threw Lebanon into turmoil.

Anti-Syria factions supported by the West won control of the government but were unable to exert any authority while locked in a struggle with Syria's allies, led by the Hezbollah movement.

The first UN investigator into the killing, Detlev Mehlis of Germany, said the assassination plot's complexity suggested a role by the Syrian intelligence services and its pro-Syria Lebanese counterpart.

But the two chief investigators who followed Mehlis have worked quietly and have not named any individuals or countries as suspects.

Last April (2008), Bellemare said investigators had evidence Hariri's killing was done by a "criminal network" also linked to a series of bombings and shootings that have killed seven anti-Syria figures and caused other deaths since Hariri's assassination.

The UN team worked under tight security for fear of attacks or intimidation, living in fortified compounds in Beirut and travelling in heavily protected motorcades.

The team also kept tight control of information about the investigation.

One piece of evidence is the tooth of the suicide bomber.

Forensic examinations determined the truck's driver was a man in his 20s who was not from Lebanon, according to Bellemare's predecessor as top investigator, Serge Brammertz of Belgium.

Investigators interviewed hundreds of people, including the presidents of Lebanon and Syria.

They acquired records listing more than 5 billion telephone calls and mobile phone text messages.

They determined the truck used in the bombing was stolen in Kanagawa, Japan, in October 2004 and purchased two months later near the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

The probe has also seen numerous twists.

Husam Husam, a Syrian barber and self-proclaimed intelligence operative, at first implicated Syrian officials in testimony to investigators.

Then he left Lebanon for Syria and appeared on TV, recanting and saying the Hariri family paid him to frame Syria.

Lebanon's government dismissed the claim.

Another purported Syrian intelligence officer, Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq, was at first said to be a key witness, then a suspect - then he vanished while under house arrest in France.

A Lebanese man who was questioned about the sale of cell phone chips allegedly used for communicating in the bombing was found dead in what was ruled a car accident.

Syria's interior minister, Brigadier General Ghazi Kenaan, died in his Damascus office in late 2005 about a month after speaking with investigators.

Syrian officials said he shot himself to death, but some in Lebanon believe he was killed.

Kenaan ran Lebanon for two decades until 2003.

LEAD IN:

The manager of Lebanese news station Al Jadeed TV has been fined for refusing to comply with a UN court order related to the ongoing trial into the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The station's deputy director, Karma Khayat has been ordered to pay 10,000 Euros (11,195 US dollars) by the end of October.

STORY-LINE:

Delivering his sentence.

Judge Nicola Lettieri of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) hands Karma Khayat, the Deputy Director of Al Jadeed TV, a fine of 10,000 Euros (11,195 US Dollars).

This is ten times less than what the prosecution had asked for.

"I sentence Miss Karma Mohamed Tahsin Al Khayat to a fine of 10,000 Euros (11,195 US Dollars) to be paid in full by 30th of October 2015. If there are no further matters, this concludes the hearing. Thank you," delivers Lettieri.

Khayat had been found guilty of contempt of court in September for her part in refusing to remove information from the station's website about the identities of confidential witnesses in the long-running probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

She had ignored a UN court order to take down the 2012 broadcasts from the station's website.

In September Judge Lettieri acquitted the station of obstructing justice in relation to the investigation into the 2005 killing of Hariri.

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

Earlier in the day prosecutors reserved strong words for Khayat - and pushed for a strong sentence.

"Miss Khayat showed no remorse or regret for such irresponsible, criminal act and quite contrary in fact Miss Khayat showed arrogance and put herself over and beyond the law," says STL prosecutor Slobodan Zecevic.

"Perhaps Ms Khayat's owns words during the closing arguments best illustrate this arrogance:'...and again, we will not be silent and we will not step back, we will never and we will never, I shall repeat it, stop undertaking our duties and unveiling your mistakes'."

"Based on our submission your Honour, we plead that the only appropriate sentence for Miss Khayat's act and conduct is to impose both sentences of one-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of 100,000 Euros (112,067 US Dollars)."

Her lawyers had said they would appeal September's verdict and remained defiant today during the court proceedings.

"My submission your Honour for the reasons that I have outlined, is that giving your finding of guilt against this woman of good character in the circumstances of this case, where nobody, no individual has been harmed, the confidence has been not undermined, and the broadcast was not intrinsically criminal," says Karim Khan.

"The finding of guilt sends enough of a signal and no separate penalty is needed."

Outside the TV's offices in Beirut, dozens of people gathered in solidarity with the station.

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:

The manager of Lebanese news station Al Jadeed TV has been fined for refusing to comply with a UN court order related to the ongoing trial into the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The station's deputy director, Karma Khayat has been ordered to pay 10,000 Euros (11,195 US dollars) by the end of October.

STORY-LINE:

Delivering his sentence.

Judge Nicola Lettieri of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) hands Karma Khayat, the Deputy Director of Al Jadeed TV, a fine of 10,000 Euros (11,195 US Dollars).

This is ten times less than what the prosecution had asked for.

"I sentence Miss Karma Mohamed Tahsin Al Khayat to a fine of 10,000 Euros (11,195 US Dollars) to be paid in full by 30th of October 2015. If there are no further matters, this concludes the hearing. Thank you," delivers Lettieri.

Khayat had been found guilty of contempt of court in September for her part in refusing to remove information from the station's website about the identities of confidential witnesses in the long-running probe into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

She had ignored a UN court order to take down the 2012 broadcasts from the station's website.

In September Judge Lettieri acquitted the station of obstructing justice in relation to the investigation into the 2005 killing of Hariri.

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

Earlier in the day prosecutors reserved strong words for Khayat - and pushed for a strong sentence.

"Miss Khayat showed no remorse or regret for such irresponsible, criminal act and quite contrary in fact Miss Khayat showed arrogance and put herself over and beyond the law," says STL prosecutor Slobodan Zecevic.

"Perhaps Ms Khayat's owns words during the closing arguments best illustrate this arrogance:'...and again, we will not be silent and we will not step back, we will never and we will never, I shall repeat it, stop undertaking our duties and unveiling your mistakes'."

"Based on our submission your Honour, we plead that the only appropriate sentence for Miss Khayat's act and conduct is to impose both sentences of one-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of 100,000 Euros (112,067 US Dollars)."

Her lawyers had said they would appeal September's verdict and remained defiant today during the court proceedings.

"My submission your Honour for the reasons that I have outlined, is that giving your finding of guilt against this woman of good character in the circumstances of this case, where nobody, no individual has been harmed, the confidence has been not undermined, and the broadcast was not intrinsically criminal," says Karim Khan.

"The finding of guilt sends enough of a signal and no separate penalty is needed."

Outside the TV's offices in Beirut, dozens of people gathered in solidarity with the station.

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.

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON HANDOUT

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 28 September 2015

++4:3++

1. Nicola Lettieri, Presiding Judge for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) entering courtroom ++MUTE SHOT++

2. Wide of STL courtroom UPSOUND (English) "The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is now in session"

3. SOUNDBITE (English) Nicola Lettieri, Presiding Judge:

"I sentence Miss Karma Mohamed Tahsin Al Khayat to a fine of 10,000 Euros (11,195 US Dollars) to be paid in full by 30th of October 2015. If there are no further matters, this concludes the hearing. Thank you."

4. Wide of STL courtroom

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Slobodan Zecevic, STL Prosecutor:

"Miss Khayat showed no remorse or regret for such irresponsible, criminal act and quite contrary in fact Miss Khayat showed arrogance and put herself over and beyond the law. Perhaps Ms Khayat's owns words during the closing arguments best illustrate this arrogance: '...and again, we will not be silent and we will not step back, we will never and we will never, I shall repeat it, stop undertaking our duties and unveiling your mistakes'. Based on our submission your Honour, we plead that the only appropriate sentence for Miss Khayat's act and conduct is to impose both sentences of one-year imprisonment and a maximum fine of 100,000 Euros (112,067 US Dollars). Thank you very much."

6. Wide of the courtroom

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Karim Khan, lawyer representing Karma Khayat:

"My submission your Honour for the reasons that I have outlined, is that giving your finding of guilt against this woman of good character in the circumstance of this case, where nobody, no individual has been harmed, confidence has been not undermined, and the broadcast was not intrinsically criminal. The finding of guilt sends enough of a signal and no separate penalty is needed."

8. Mid of prosecution

9. Wide of courtroom

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 28 September 2015

++16:9++

10. Exterior of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

11. Close up of the STL flag

12. Mid of sign reading (English/French/Arabic) "Special Tribunal for Lebanon"

NETHERLANDS HARIRI

SOURCE: AP TELEVISION/ SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON HANDOUT

RESTRICTIONS: MIDDLE EAST EXTRA CLIENTS ONLY

LENGTH: 3.15

SHOTLIST:

Special Tribunal for Lebanon Handout

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 16 April 2015

++4:3++

++Please note there are fades throughout this edit++

1. Nicola Lettieri, presiding Judge, opening the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)

2. Wide shot of STL court room

3. Close-up on the accused Karma Al Khayat, Al-Jadeed television journalist

4. Wide shot of presiding judge Nicola Lettieri

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) Kenneth Scott, Prosecutor in case against Al Jadeed and Karma Al Khayat: ++PART OVERLAID++

"What this case is really about, your Honour, what this case is really about, is a media company and its management that wanted a big scoop by high profile sensational so called exclusive, and they were were willing to do whatever it took to get it. We want a scoop and by gosh we will do whatever it takes to get it."

6. Mid of Al Khayat and her lawyer Karim Khan

7. Wide of court room and team of prosecution

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Karma Al Khayat, accused journalist:

"I will give a last example; prosecutor Norman Ferrell ( Ayyash case) is allowed to put in danger the lives of innocent Lebanese citizens by presenting their phone numbers directly here at the beginning and the opening of the public prosecution. Those numbers are broadcast on all Lebanese television channels and accuses them of killing the prime minister Hariri. We in Al Jadeed will prove that those numbers are wrong. You have recognised that a fatal error was made and that's possible for you but nobody renders you (the prosecution) accountable for that, based on article 60, but you tell us that we block normal administration justice. So you are saying that we do things that we are not allowed to do, what kind of justice is that? Who holds you responsible for your mistakes. Is our world today, a world that dictatorial prevails."

9. Wide of court room

10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Karim Khan, Lawyer representing Al Jadeed and Karma Khayat:

"Your Honour, one can engage in all kinds of mental gymnastics, but when one eliminates various possibilities, puts together the evidence of CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation), La Figaro and Der Spiegel, we say beyond the doubt there is a proper basis to conclude there are leaks from this court that the prosecutor has ignored and looked away from. Instead it's a very much a case of shoot the messenger."

11. Mid of court room

12. Wide of judge leaving court ++mute shot++

AP Television

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 16 April 2015

++16:9++

13. Exterior of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

14. Mid of arrivals

15. Wide exterior of building where tribunal is taking place

LEADIN:

A Lebanese television network has gone on trial in the Netherlands for releasing the identities of witnesses linked to the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Al-Jadeed television, and journalist Karma Khayat, have pleaded not guilty to charges of contempt of court for making the names public.

STORYLINE:

The court session begins for the day at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in the Netherlands.

Lebanese television network Al-Jadeed Television is on trial, accused of obstructing justice in the long-running probe into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The network and its deputy news director, Karma Khayat, pleaded not guilty to charges of contempt of court for releasing identities of confidential witnesses.

Prosecuting, Kenneth Scott, says: "What this case is really about, your Honour, what this case is really about, is a media company and its management that wanted a big scoop by high profile sensational so called exclusive, and they were were willing to do whatever it took to get it. We want a scoop and by gosh we will do whatever it takes to get it."

Some legislators and public figures in Lebanon have expressed solidarity with the network in recent days, with some Lebanese journalists describing the case as an attack on media freedom.

Khayat could face up to seven years in prison and 100,000 Euros (106,992 US dollars) in fines if convicted. The network would also face up to 100,000 Euros (106,992 US dollars) in fines.

Speaking to the court, Khayat denounced the legal system, saying there was one rule for them and another for everyone else.

The network is accused of publishing a list of prosecution witnesses in the Hariri case in 2012, which the tribunal has said could compromise the proceedings and undermine trust in the court's ability to protect confidential witnesses.

The 2005 suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others was one of the Middle East's most dramatic political assassinations.

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

The trial began 15 months ago, and is ongoing.

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

Karim Khan, the Lawyer representing Al Jadeed and Karma Khayat says the network is being unfairly targeted.

"Your Honour, one can engage in all kinds of mental gymnastics, but when one eliminates various possibilities puts together the evidence of CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation), La Figaro and Der Spiegel, we say beyond the doubt there is a proper basis to conclude there are leaks from this court that the prosecutor has ignored and looked away from. Instead it's a very much a case of shoot the messenger."

Al-Jadeed is a secular TV station based in Beirut and a pioneer in revealing corruption cases in Lebanon.

It has angered political groups in the past as well as the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.

It's one of Lebanon's most popular TV stations, airing live speeches and political news conferences.

===========================================================

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The trial of the Hezbollah members and supporters suspected of being behind the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, will finally start this week, nine years after his murder.

The suicide truck bomb attack that killed Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005 was one of the most dramatic top-level assassinations the Middle East and immediately caused an increase in what were already huge sectarian divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.

The United Nations-backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon will begin on Thursday on the outskirts of The Hague in the Netherlands.

However, the five key suspects behind the attack will be tried in absentia as they are still yet to be arrested.

They included four Hezbollah members indicted in 2011 with plotting the attack and another supporter charged last year. All of them remain at large.

The trial will be held under a hybrid system of international and Lebanese law.

Hezbollah has condemned the trial as a conspiracy by its archenemies the US and Israel. It's also denied any involvement in Hariri's assassination.

Despite widespread criticism of the trial, some inside Lebanon are optimistic that justice will prevail.

"We are confident that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will conduct these proceedings and the procedure in a very fair way in order to let the Lebanese at last find out the truth," said Ibrahim Najjar, a former Lebanese Justice Minister.

Other are hoping that the trial will help bring an end to the string of political assassinations which have rocked the country since Hariri's death.

The last attack was on December 27, 2013 when former finance minster Mohammed Chatah, a Hezbollah critic and also former aide to Hariri, was killed in a car bombing in Beirut.

"We and the international community wanted the tribunal to punish the criminals and to stop political assassinations," said legislator Atef Majdalani, a member of the Future Movement bloc that is headed by Hariri's son, Saad, also a former prime minister.

"Truth will emerge, justice is coming, therefore you should either move along this road, the road of justice, or justice will get you," Majdalani added.

But many question whether justice will indeed be done while the key defendants in the case are still at large.

AP TELEVISION

++16:9++

1. Wide of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's grave with photos of him in the background and the statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon next to the grave

2. Close of the UN-ratified Statute reading (Arabic) "Statute of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon"

3. Mid of Hariri grave with photo on top

4. Wide of former Lebanese Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar walking in his house

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Najjar, former Lebanese Justice Minister:

"We are confident that the Special Tribunal for Lebanon will conduct these proceedings and the procedure in a very fair way in order to let the Lebanese at last find out the truth."

6. Close of Najjar's hands holding a pair of glasses

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Najjar, former Lebanese Justice Minister:

"I think that for the first time since 1943, Lebanon is about now to discover the truth within an independent tribunal."

8. Close of photograph of Najjar

9. SOUNDBITE (English) Ibrahim Najjar, former Lebanese Justice Minister:

"Yes, there is a fear, at least somebody, some witnesses have declared that they fear to appear before the court and to say everything they have in mind or in their knowledge. I think that there is a real fear because when you kill a witness the truth is affected, that is why I think that there are special precautions, special undertakings that have been decided by the tribunal in order to protect them."

10. Mid of traffic at the explosion site where Hariri was killed

11. Close of Hariri statue

12. Atef Majdalani, Lebanese Member of Parliament walking

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

"We and the international community wanted the tribunal to punish the criminals and to stop political assassinations, and to say that political assassinations will not solve any problems and that criminals responsible will be punished."

14. Close of photo of Majdalani and Hariri

15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Dr Atef Majdalani, Future Movement MP:

"Truth will emerge, justice is coming, therefore you should either move along this road, the road of justice, or justice will get you and punish the criminals among you."

FILE: AP TELEVISION

14 February, 2005

++4:3++

16. Various of Hariri assassination blast site with burnt out cars and emergency services attempting to control flames

17. Wide top shot of people gathering at Martyrs' Square in Beirut

The son of Lebanon's former prime minister who was assassinated almost eight years ago insisted on Thursday he was seeking "justice not vengeance" at the trial

of those accused of plotting the killing.

Saad Hariri, whose father Rafik was killed in a truck bombing on February 14, 2005, spoke outside the court where proceedings against four Hezbollah suspects were underway.

The four suspects were absent from the hearing as they have not been arrested.

"It is not in our dictionary to fight violence with violence," Hariri said. "Hopefully by the end of this trial we will find out the truth and we will get the justice that we call for in Lebanon."

A former prime minister of Lebanon, like his father before him, Hariri attended the hearing in the Netherlands along with relatives of other victims of the truck bombing which happened on February 14, 2005.

Shiite group Hezbollah denies involvement in the murder and the group's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, has denounced the court as a conspiracy by the U.S. and Israel.

Hariri criticised all those shielding the suspects from justice, calling it "a crime on top of the main crime".

During the proceedings, Alexander Hugh Milne, prosecuting, showed the court photographs of damaged cars which had been part of Rafik Hariri's convoy at the time of the blast.

He said his purpose in showing the mangled wreckage of the vehicles was to demonstrate that Rafik Hariri's assassination has been "a cruel, cruel act".

The presiding judge at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon has said that the trial is likely to take months with hundreds of witnesses called.

Lebanon has a history of political assassinations for which no one has ever been held accountable. In the emotional days following his death, Hariri supporters called for an international investigation, and a U.N.-backed court was established in 2009.

AP TELEVISION

++16:9++

1. Wide of Saad Hariri, son of late Rafik Hariri and former Prime Minister of Lebanon, approaching the media outside of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

2. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saad Hariri, son of late Rafik Hariri and former Prime Minister of Lebanon:

"Our call for justice and punishment will remain, but not revenge and it is not in our dictionary to fight violence with violence."

3. Cutaway

4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Saad Hariri, son of late Rafik Hariri and former Prime Minister of Lebanon:

"Protecting the accused in the crime of killing Rafik Al Hariri and his companions and then not handing them over to justice is a crime on top of main crime."

5. Wide of Hariri speaking to media

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Saad Hariri, son of late Rafik Hariri and former Prime Minister of Lebanon:

"This is what we want, justice not vengeance we never seek vengeance and hopefully by the end of this trial we will find out the truth and we will get the justice that we call for in Lebanon."

STL (SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON) POOL

++4:3++

7. Wide of the judges in the court room with a model of the part of Lebanon where explosion happened in the foreground

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Alexander Hugh Milne, Prosecutor: ++++partially covered by still images of vehicles destroyed in the blast that killed Rafik Hariri++

"Out of respect for deceased and their families we shall not show now detailed photographs of the injuries which were inflicted upon them. What maybe instructive though is to see the effect of the blast upon the vehicles which have been in the convoy. Vehicle 403, Mr Hariri's car was very badly damaged and subsequently gutted with the fire. Vehicle 404, was torn apart by explosion. What we show here, the fragments on the ground constitute all that was recovered of this vehicle. We show those not out of concern for cars, but because in our submission this explosion was a cruel, cruel act."

9. Wide of the court room

LEAD IN:

Lawyers in the Netherlands have been making their closing arguments in the case of a Lebanese television network accused of contempt of court.

Al-Jadeed television and journalist Karma Khayat are accused of releasing the identities of witnesses linked to the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

STORY-LINE:

The contempt of court case against Al-Jadeed television and one of its journalists, Karma Khayat, is entering its final stages.

Lawyers are starting to make their closing arguments at the tribunal in the Dutch town of Leidschendam.

Al-Jadeed television and its deputy news director Karma Khayat are accused of obstructing justice in the long-running probe into the killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The network is accused of publishing a list of prosecution witnesses in the Hariri case in 2012, which the tribunal says could compromise the proceedings and undermine trust in the court's ability to protect confidential witnesses.

"Al-Jadeed's entire scheme concerning these tribunal reports that were broadcast in August 2012, this entire scheme, its purpose and the show, I call it, in terms of theatre, in terms of drama, in terms of presentation, this show was to dramatically expose to the world and especially the people of Lebanon, alleged confidential tribunal witnesses," says tribunal prosecutor Kenneth Scott.

Al-Jadeed television and Khayat have pleaded not guilty to charges of contempt of court.

Khayat says the tribunal should not be considering the case in the first place.

"I think that it would have been better for the tribunal to focus on its main purpose and to prosecute the people who killed Rafik Hariri. What this tribunal did in the last year and a half towards Al-Jadeed, Arab and international media, is bad for the tribunal's reputation and its mission," she says.

"The second point is that we were presenting our (defence) in the case that has no basis, without any clear evidence, with false accusations against the media, and making up standards for media that do not exist in other international courts," she adds.

Khayat could face up to seven years in prison and 100,000 Euros (106,992 US dollars) in fines if convicted.

The network would also face up to 100,000 Euros (106,992 US dollars) in fines.

The 2005 suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others was one of the Middle East's most dramatic political assassinations.

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

The trial began 15 months ago, and is ongoing. Hezbollah denies involvement and the group's leader has denounced the court as a conspiracy by his archenemies - the U.S. and Israel.

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.

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 18 June 2015

++4:3++

1. Various of court session beginning at Special Tribunal for Lebanon +PART MUTE++

2. SOUNDBITE (English) Kenneth Scott, prosecutor:

"Your Honor, the amicus case has shown that Al-Jadeed's entire scheme concerning these tribunal reports that were broadcast in August 2012, this entire scheme, its purpose and the show, I call it, in terms of theatre, in terms of drama, in terms of presentation, this show was to dramatically expose to the world and especially the people of Lebanon, alleged confidential tribunal witnesses."

AP TELEVISION

Leidschendam, Netherlands - 18 June 2015

++16:9++

3. Wide of Special Tribunal for Lebanon building

4. Various of accused journalist Karma Khayat arriving at court

5. Special Tribunal for Lebanon entrance

6. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Karma Khayat, deputy news editor at Al-Jadeed television:

"I think that it would have been better for the tribunal to focus on its main purpose and to prosecute the people who killed Rafik Hariri. What this tribunal did in the last year and a half towards Al-Jadeed, Arab and international media, is bad for the tribunal's reputation and its mission. The second point is that we were presenting our (defence) in the case that has no basis, without any clear evidence, with false accusations against the media, and making up standards for media that do not exist in other international courts."

7. Sign of Special Tribunal for Lebanon

8. Close up of flag

9. Wide of tribunal building

SHOTLIST:

1. Various exteriors of Special Tribunal for Lebanon building

2. Various works in courtyard of the building

3. Wide of future courtroom, venue of Tuesday's press conference

4. Mid of sign reading "Special Tribunal for Lebanon"

5. Wide of news conference

6. SOUNDBITE (English) Robin Vincent, Registrar at Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

"As this tribunal has from the taking up of the office by the prosecutor sixty days, two months to apply to the Lebanon authorities, and I just paraphrase here; for the transfer of people and paper. By paper I mean obviously evidence, files, etc, and by people I mean anyone who either the prosecutor asked for, if they are in custody. And that is certainly a matter for them. It is a matter for the prosecutor, it is a matter for the pre-trial judge and a judicial process."

7. Cutaway of reporters

8. SOUNDBITE (English) Robin Vincent, Registrar at Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

"Those detained will be detained in Scheveningen which is, of course, the Dutch penitentiary but with the international corps, as it were. They will be in that area and they will, of course, be with those who are being tried or one person being tried for Sierra Leone, those with the Yugoslav tribunal and those now with the ICC (International Criminal Court). However, let's make it very clear, is that a distinct wing of cells has been acquired by us, is operational, is staffed and is ready in terms of receiving anyone that we get."

9. Various interior of future courtroom, currently a gym hall

STORYLINE:

The registrar of a tribunal that will prosecute suspected assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said on Tuesday the court's prosecutor will likely request the transfer of suspects from Beirut in coming weeks.

Robin Vincent said the prosecutor has 60 days from the date the court formally opens on Sunday to request suspects be turned over for trial.

The court's Canadian prosecutor Daniel Bellemare has recently indicated he plans to request the transfer of suspects, Vincent said. He gave no further details of suspects that could be sent to the Netherlands.

Nobody has been charged in the suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others, although four pro-Syria Lebanese generals have been under arrest for more than three years for alleged involvement.

Hariri, a billionaire businessman, had close ties with Western leaders and was credited with helping rebuild Lebanon's capital after the 1975-1990 civil war and trying to limit neighbouring Syria's influence over Lebanon.

The tribunal, based in a former Dutch intelligence agency in a village just outside The Hague, formally opens for business on Sunday even though no judges have yet been named and it still has no rule book for prosecutors and judges.

The U.N. Security Council unilaterally set up the tribunal in 2007 after the speaker of the Lebanese parliament refused to call a session to ratify the statutes to create it.

It is housed in the Netherlands, which already is home to the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and International Criminal Court, primarily for security reasons.

Bellemare is expected to make a statement on the progress of his investigation at Sunday's opening ceremony.

Vincent, who is the tribunal's administrative chief, said he is ready to detain suspects in a Dutch jail that already holds Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former Liberian President Charles Taylor among other international war crimes suspects.

"A distinct wing of cells has been acquired by us, is operational and is ready in terms of receiving anyone we get," Vincent told reporters who gathered in a gymnasium that will be transformed into the tribunal's courtroom by year's end.

The tribunal will use Lebanese law applied by a mixture of Lebanese and international judges.

Unlike courts in Lebanon it does not have the death sentence. Its heaviest punishment is life imprisonment.

SHOTLIST

1. Wide of police checkpoint outside Roumyeh prison

2. Mid of policemen

3. Zoom into car carrying the released suspects leaving prison grounds

4. Close of released suspect inside the car

5. Cars leaving

6. Tilt up of fireworks

7. People cheering, pan to man firing AK-47 in celebration

8. Women trilling

9. Men dancing

10. Man beating drum

11. Man distributing sweets

12. Exterior of AlMashari Islamic charity association

13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Sheikh Abdulkader al-Fakahani, al-Ahbash spokesman:

"We have known from the first moment that they were innocent and their arrest was not legal. The Lebanese justice released them today and that's what we were after."

14. Men cheering

STORYLINE

Three men jailed for more than three years in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri were set free on bail on Wednesday, days before an international tribunal was to begin trying the case.

The judge did not explain his decision to release two Lebanese brothers on a bail of 500,000 Lebanese pounds (330 US dollars) each and a Syrian man on a bail of just 100,000 Lebanese pounds (67 US dollars).

The three could still be prosecuted in the case, although no one has been charged in the suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on a seaside street in Beirut on February 14, 2005.

Investigating judge Saqr Saqr's decision, carried by the official news agency, said four other suspects in the bombing - all pro-Syrian Lebanese generals - would remain jailed, which could allow them to be turned over to the international court.

As the news of the release of the Abdel-Al brothers filtered down, several hundred supporters gathered outside offices of Ahmed's faction in a Muslim neighbourhood of Beirut to await their arrival.

Some beat drums, others handed out candy, set off firecrackers or fired off pistols into the air in celebration.

A spokesman for the pro-Syrian Islamic group, known as al-Ahbash, welcomed the release of the brothers, saying it knew they were innocent from the start.

At the time of the assassination, the generals headed the police, military intelligence, a General Security agency, and the Presidential Guard Brigade.

The late Hariri had close ties with Western leaders and was credited with helping rebuild Beirut after the 1975-1990 civil war and trying to limit

neighbouring Syria's influence over Lebanon.

Following his assassination, Syria's army withdrew after mass protests, which also sparked political upheaval and violence.

The UN Security Council ordered an independent investigation into the assassination after its fact-finding mission found that the Lebanese

investigation was flawed.

The Security Council set up the mixed Lebanese-international tribunal in the Netherlands at the Lebanese government's request after parliament split between the majority and the opposition and failed to ratify an agreement with the UN.

The case has been handed over to the tribunal.

The first UN investigator, German Detlev Mehlis, said the plot's complexity suggested Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services played a role.

Hariri's supporters accuse Damascus of the bombing, but Syria denies involvement.

Two of the men freed on Wednesday - brothers Mahmoud and Ahmed Abdel-Al, a member of a pro-Syrian Sunni Muslim fundamentalist group - were detained in 2005.

A UN probe into the slaying said Mahmoud made "interesting" phone calls February 14, including one to former President Emile Lahoud, just before a truck bomb killed Hariri, raising questions about the president.

But the office of Lahoud, a Hariri rival and Syria's staunchest ally, denied the president received the call.

Lahoud's extension of his term in September 2004 for three more years, under pressure from Syria, triggered a sharp disagreement between Damascus, then a dominant power in Lebanon, and Hariri, who opposed the measure then relented before resigning two months later.

Ahmed Abdel-Al was named by the U.N. probe in 2005 as a "key figure" who had extensive contacts with top Lebanese security officials before and after the blast, and tried to hide information from investigators.

The third man freed, Syrian Ibrahim Jarjoura, was arrested in 2006 on suspicion he gave false evidence and misled the investigation.

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.

SHOTLIST:

01 March 2009

1. Wide of Beirut city skyline

2. Mid of Lebanese army Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) on road

3. Close of APC

4. Mid of traffic on Beirut city street

5. Various of newspapers

6. Wide of Al-Amin mosque

7. Close of mosque

8. Wide of people standing around murdered former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's grave

9. Mid of people reciting versus of the Quran at Hariri's grave

10. Mid of Hariri's grave with pictures of Hariri in background

11. Close of Hariri's picture

12. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad El-Sheikh, resident, vox pop:

"This tribunal will put an end to the killing, the criminal must be punished."

13. Mid of people standing around the grave

14. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Leila Fleifel, resident, vox pop:

"Lebanon will not be a place for living or for development if this tribunal is not effective."

15. Wide of traffic on city street

16. Mid of Lebanese army APC under bridge

FILE: 04 September 2000

17. Various of Hariri greeting people

FILE: 26 October 2000

18. Convoy of Hariri arriving at presidential palace after being elected Prime Minister

19. Hariri getting out of car and walking into presidential palace

20. Various of meeting between Hariri and then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

21. Close of photographs of Hariri and his family

22. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rafik Hariri, former Lebanese Prime Minister:

"I believe we have to open the economy as much as we can, we have to overcome all the obstacles and try to make Lebanon as the commercial centre and financial centre for the middle east."

23. Close of Lebanese flag

24. SOUNDBITE: (English) Rafik Hariri, former Lebanese Prime Minister:

"You know, there's a consensus in Lebanon that Israel has to withdraw from all Lebanese territory. Anyway for me, I believe in peace and I believe that we have to do everything to achieve peace in the region."

25. Hariri talking mobile phone

STORYLINE:

An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was starting work on Sunday at its headquarters in a village outside The Hague.

Despite the start of proceedings, it is still not known who will be accused in the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on a seaside street in Beirut on 14 February 2005.

Lebanese army forces in armoured personnel carriers were deployed on the streets of Beirut on Sunday to maintain calm.

Hundreds of Hariri supporters gathered peacefully around his grave in downtown Beirut, many expressing their support for the tribunal.

Mohammad El-Sheikh a resident in Beirut said whoever was responsible for the killing must be punished and he hoped the tribunal would achieve that.

While Leila Fleifel said Lebanon would not be a suitable place for living if the tribunal was not effective.

Four pro-Syrian generals are being held in Lebanese custody although none of them have been formally charged with Hariri's murder.

The generals led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.

Court prosecutor Daniel Bellemare of Canada said he expects to request within weeks for Lebanon to transfer to the court the four generals.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.

Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination.

Syria has denied any involvement.

After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate Hariri's killing was set up by the UN Security Council in 2007 and comprises both foreign and Lebanese judges.

It is based in the Netherlands to ensure the safety of staff and an impartial trial.

The judges have not yet been sworn in and the names of Lebanese judges have been withheld out of fears for their safety.

Some in Lebanon doubt the tribunal will ever bring out the full truth, believing it might avoid digging deep to ensure Syria does not react by stirring up trouble in Lebanon and other parts of the region.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a trip through Africa, issued a statement praising Sunday's tribunal opening.

He said the commencement marked a "decisive milestone" in the efforts by all Lebanese and the international community to uncover the truth, and bring those responsible to justice.

The Hariri court is the latest international tribunal to be based in the Netherlands.

The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and the International Criminal Court.

SHOTLIST:

01 March 2009

1. Wide of Beirut city skyline

2. Mid of Lebanese army Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) on road

3. Close of APC

4. Wide of traffic on city street

5. Mid of Lebanese army APC under bridge

6. Wide of Al-Amin mosque

7. Close of mosque

8. Wide of people standing around murdered former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's grave inside the Al-Amin mosque

9. Mid of people reciting versus of the Quran at Hariri's grave

10. Mid of Hariri's grave with pictures of Hariri in background

11. Close of Hariri's picture

01 March 2009

12. Wide of people gathering around Hariri's grave

13. Pull out to wide of Lebanese politicians laying a wreath on Hariri's grave

14. SOUNDBITE (English) Marwan Hamadeh, Lebanese legislator from the Democratic Gathering bloc:

"It is the beginning of truth, the beginning of justice and I think that it is a page that is being opened in the history of Lebanon, the page of Justice, the end of impunity and it is a lesson for many regimes around us in the Middle East."

15. Mid of May Chidiac, a Lebanese journalist and survivor of a targeted car bomb attack, laying flowers at grave

16. Photo of Hariri

17. SOUNDBITE (English) May Chidiac, Lebanese journalist and survivor of a targeted car bomb attack:

"We have suffered too much from killing and killing attempts and the explosions that were put here and there for many decades so now we hope this chapter will be over and will be closed."

18. People leaving the Hariri memorial ceremony

FILE: 26 October 2000

19. Convoy of Hariri arriving at presidential palace after being elected Prime Minister

20. Hariri getting out of car and walking into presidential palace

21. Various of meeting between Hariri and then Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

22. Hariri talking mobile phone

STORYLINE:

An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was starting work on Sunday at its headquarters in a village outside The Hague.

Despite the start of proceedings, it is still not known who will be accused in the suicide truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 other people on a seaside street in Beirut on 14 February 2005.

Lebanese army forces in armoured personnel carriers were deployed on the streets of Beirut on Sunday to maintain calm.

Hundreds of Hariri supporters gathered peacefully around his grave in downtown Beirut, to mark the beginning of the International Tribunal with many expressing their support.

Marwan Hamadeh, a Lebanese legislator who was targeted by a car bomb in Beirut in 2004, said the tribunal turned a page in Lebanon's history.

Hamadeh said the tribunal "is the beginning of truth, the beginning of justice" and he hoped it would be a "lesson for many regimes around us in the Middle East".

Also paying her respects at the graveside on Sunday was May Chidiac, a Lebanese journalist who also survived a car bomb attack.

Chidiac said she hoped the tribunal would spell the end of the suffering of the Lebanese people.

Four pro-Syrian generals are being held in Lebanese custody although none of them have been formally charged with Hariri's murder.

The generals led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.

Court prosecutor Daniel Bellemare of Canada said he expects to request within weeks for Lebanon to transfer to the court the four generals.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.

Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination.

Syria has denied any involvement.

After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon to investigate Hariri's killing was set up by the UN Security Council in 2007 and comprises both foreign and Lebanese judges.

It is based in the Netherlands to ensure the safety of staff and an impartial trial.

The judges have not yet been sworn in and the names of Lebanese judges have been withheld out of fears for their safety.

Some in Lebanon doubt the tribunal will ever bring out the full truth, believing it might avoid digging deep to ensure Syria does not react by stirring up trouble in Lebanon and other parts of the region.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on a trip through Africa, issued a statement praising Sunday's tribunal opening.

He said the commencement marked a "decisive milestone" in the efforts by all Lebanese and the international community to uncover the truth, and bring those responsible to justice.

The Hariri court is the latest international tribunal to be based in the Netherlands.

The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice, the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal and the International Criminal Court.

SHOTLIST

1. Beirut city skyline

2. Mid of traffic

3. Wide of newspaper stand

4. Tilt down of newspaper headlines

5. Mid of the released Generals' pictures

6. Man reading newspaper

7. Newspaper headline reading (Arabic) "The release of the Generals: An end of a phase"

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Samer Habib, resident:

"The decision was supposed to be taken in Lebanon as long as they were innocent; it was unfair to stay three years (in prison). They should look after the killers and punish them"

9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Amer Takieddine, resident:

"I see it politically biased. Nobody knows anything. It is a mess. Nobody knows how they were arrested and how they were released."

10. Mid of traffic

11. Wide of Saad Hariri, son of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, meeting with Walid Jumblatt, head of National Democratic Gathering bloc

12. Close of Jumblatt

13. Close of Hariri

14. Hariri and Jumblatt walking towards podium

15. Cutaway cameraman

16. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic), Walid Jumblatt, head of National Democratic Gathering bloc:

"The most important thing we can do to execute the justice in the Hariri case is to go for the elections in one row and we will win the elections."

17. Mid of released General Jamil Al-Sayyed shaking hands with supporters

18. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Jamil Al-Sayyed, released General:

"I do not seek revenge and I do not have the hate feeling. Hate is for the weak in this life, but at the same time I was in charge in the State and I like accountability. If the judges who erred, the officers and the journalists who fed the false witnesses with information resign as a result of the court's decision then I consider being compensated. If they do not resign and if they will be fired by Saad Hariri then I will consider being compensated with his father (Rafik Hariri)"

19. Wide of hall

STORYLINE

One of four generals released after being held for nearly four years over the 2005 truck bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri said on Thursday he did not seek revenge.

"I do not have the hate feeling. Hate is for the weak in this life," said former general security chief Major General Jamil Al-Sayyed, one of those freed.

Lebanon released them on orders from a UN-backed tribunal.

Their release from a Beirut prison left the international tribunal in the Netherlands with no suspects in custody after a four-year UN investigation into an assassination that triggered enormous political and sectarian turmoil in one of the Middle East's most volatile countries.

The tribunal's decision, after prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to justify their continued detention, could also have an immediate political impact.

Lebanon is heading into a crucial parliamentary election on 7 June that pits a pro-Western faction headed by Hariri's son Saad against an opposition dominated by the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.

Saad Hariri's faction is struggling to hold onto its legislative majority.

The opposition, which took up the cause of the four generals, could get a boost from their release.

The generals had been held since August 2005 for suspected involvement in the suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut in February of that year.

Tribunal judge Daniel Fransen demanded that Lebanese authorities protect the generals after he ordered their unconditional release and said they should no longer be considered suspects.

Fransen said a key witness had retracted a statement that initially incriminated the generals, undermining the case against them.

Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said in court he would not appeal.

So far, Bellemare has not indicted anyone and has not identified any other suspects in the suicide bombing.

Hariri's assassination sparked mass protests that forced Syria's army out of the country after about three decades of political and military domination by Lebanon's neighbour.

As prime minister, Hariri, a (b) billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war and with trying to limit Syria's influence in the last months before his assassination.

SHOTLIST

Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STP)

The Hague, Netherlands - 29 April 2009

1. Wide of of Special Tribunal for Lebanon officials

2. SOUNDBITE (French) Judge Daniel Fransen, Pretrial Judge:

"Now in the case in hand: having examined in depth all the materials in the case file collected by the investigation commission, the Lebanese authorities and his office, the prosecutor considers that the evidence available to him currently is not sufficiently credible to request the maintenance in detention of those persons based on that and the fact that these persons are presumed innocent the prosecutor does not believe that there is a need to keep them in detention at this point in the proceedings."

3. Wide of officials

AP Television

Beirut, Lebanon - 29 April 2009

4. Pan of detained general, Jamil Sayyed's family, supporters and media watching announcement on television

5. Close of television screen

6. People cheering at decision announcement, they applaud and embrace each other

7. Close of Sayyed's wife, Elaine, zoom out as she embraces her son

8. Family distributing sweets in celebration

9. Close of framed photograph of Sayyed

10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Elaine Sayyed, Jamil Sayyed's wife:

"We thank God that the truth we wanted was revealed. Not the false truth that they have been asking for from day one. Jamil Sayyed who built institutions could never be a criminal."

11. Tilt down from fireworks in sky to supporters setting off fireworks on street

AP Photos - NO ACCESS CANADA/FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY - STRICTLY NO ACCESS ONLINE OR MOBILE

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 17 March 2005

12. STILL photo of then General Security chief, Major General Jamil Sayyed

AP Photos - NO ACCESS CANADA/FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY - STRICTLY NO ACCESS ONLINE OR MOBILE

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 26 March 2002

13. STILL photo of then Presidential Guards commander Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan (on left) with former Lebanese President Emile Lahoud

AP Photos - NO ACCESS CANADA/FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY - STRICTLY NO ACCESS ONLINE OR MOBILE

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 2004

14. STILL photo of Major General Ali Hajj, the ex-Internal Security Forces director general

AP Photos - NO ACCESS CANADA/FOR BROADCAST USE ONLY - STRICTLY NO ACCESS ONLINE OR MOBILE

FILE: Beirut, Lebanon - 2004

15. STILL photo of Brigadier General Raymond Azar, the former military intelligence chief

STORYLINE

A judge at the United Nations-backed tribunal set up to prosecute former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri's assassins on Wednesday ordered the immediate release of four pro-Syrian generals being held in Beirut as suspects in the killing.

The generals have been in jail since August 30, 2005, on suspicion of involvement in the bombing six months earlier on a Beirut seaside street which killed Hariri and 22 others.

However, the four - General Security chief Major General Jamil Sayyed; Major General Ali Hajj, the ex-Internal Security Forces director general; Brigadier General Raymond Azar, the former military intelligence chief; and the then Presidential Guards commander Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan - have never been formally charged.

On Wednesday, Judge Daniel Fransen - the pretrial judge on the Special Tribunal for Lebanon at the Hague - ordered the Lebanese generals freed after prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to justify their continued detention.

Fransen said a key witnesses had retracted a statement that initially incriminated the generals, undermining the case against them.

Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said in court he would not appeal. He said in a written submission this week that the "evidence available to him currently is not sufficiently credible" to keep detaining the four generals.

So far, Bellemare has not indicted anyone and has not identified any other suspects in the suicide bombing.

Fransen also demanded that Lebanese authorities protect the generals after their unconditional release and said they should no longer be considered suspects.

The eagerly awaited decision - made public in the Hague and broadcast live across Lebanon - was met with fireworks and celebrations from the generals' supporters in Beirut.

Hariri's assassination and accusations by his supporters of Syrian involvement sparked massive protests in Lebanon and together with international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its army from the country, ending 29 years of domination.

Syria has denied involvement.

The release could have an immediate political impact as Lebanon heads into a crucial parliamentary election.

The tribunal opened March 1 amid tight security at the former headquarters of a Dutch intelligence agency in Leidschendam, a village on the outskirts of The Hague.

It is made up of Lebanese and international judges and Canadian prosecutor, Bellemare, who has yet to issue any indictments.

The court uses Lebanese law, but cannot impose the death penalty.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence in the country following decades of heavy military and intelligence presence.

UN-appointed investigators have been probing his assassination for years.

The first chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the plot's complexity suggested that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services had a role.

SHOTLIST

1. Mid of people dancing and beating drums outside Major General Jamil Sayyed's home

2. Close up of portrait of the four released generals with writing (Arabic) "Free"

3. Mid of people dancing and waving flags

4. Tilt down from poster to people dancing

5. SOUNDBITE: (English), Nawar Al-Sahili, Hezbollah member of Parliament:

"It is a sad day for the Lebanese judges, what happened is that four big Generals were detained in prison for no reason. I think that what happened today is a victory not for the opposition or somebody in the political problems in Lebanon but it is a victory for the human rights and a victory for the law."

6. Woman on balcony waving portrait of the generals

7. Exterior of the Interior ministry

8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ziad Baroud, Lebanese Interior Minister:

"We have taken all the security measures for the immediate release of the four Generals according to the stipulation of the (International Tribunal) decision and according to the cooperation between the Lebanese state and the court. It is at this moment taking place."

9. Various of Lebanese army vehicles outside Roumieh prison

STORYLINE

There were celebrations across Beirut on Wednesday as live television carried the news of the release of four pro-Syrian generals being held as suspects in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Earlier on Wednesday a judge at the United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague, set up to prosecute Hariri's assassins, ordered the immediate release of the four generals.

The four ordered freed were former General Security chief Major General Jamil Sayyed; Major General Ali Hajj, the ex-Internal Security Forces director general; Brigadier General Raymond Azar, the former military intelligence chief; and the former Presidential Guards commander, Brigadier General Mustafa Hamdan.

Fireworks and some gunfire echoed across the Lebanese capital as news of the release was conveyed from The Hague.

At Sayyed's home in Beirut, relatives burst out in tears of joy, hugging and kissing each other.

Women relatives ululated in a traditional sign of jubilation.

Supporters of Sayyed gathered outside his house in Beirut dancing and beating drums to celebrate his release.

Hezbollah member of Parliament, Nawar Al-Sahili said it was a "sad day" for Lebanese justice, since it had recommended the detention of the generals.

Judge Daniel Fransen ordered the Lebanese generals freed after prosecutors said there was insufficient evidence to justify their continued detention.

Fransen also demanded that Lebanese authorities protect the generals after their unconditional release and said they should no longer be considered suspects.

The generals have been in custody in Lebanon since August 2005, six months after Hariri and 22 others were killed in a suicide bombing.

Interior Minister Ziad Baroud said Lebanese authorities were taking immediate measures to free the generals, taking into consideration measures for their security.

The four generals were the only suspects being held in the case.

Three other suspects jailed for more than three years were set free on bail in Beirut in February, a few days before the tribunal began its work and jurisdiction of the case was transferred to the court.

Hariri's assassination and accusations by his supporters of Syrian involvement sparked massive protests in Lebanon and together with international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its army from the country, ending 29 years of domination.

Syria has denied involvement.

The release could have an immediate political impact.

Lebanon is heading into a crucial parliamentary election that pits a pro-Western faction headed by Hariri's son Saad against an opposition dominated by the militant Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah.

Saad Hariri's faction is struggling to hold onto its legislative majority while the opposition has taken up the cause of the four generals.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has opposed the continued detention of the four, saying they should be charged and put on trial if they were suspected of involvement or otherwise released.

The tribunal opened March 1 amid tight security at the former headquarters of a Dutch intelligence agency in Leidschendam, a village on the outskirts of The Hague.

It is made up of Lebanese and international judges and Canadian prosecutor, Bellemare, who has yet to issue any indictments.

The court uses Lebanese law, but cannot impose the death penalty.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence in the country following decades of heavy military and intelligence presence.

UN-appointed investigators have been probing his assassination for years.

The first chief investigator, Germany's Detlev Mehlis, said the plot's complexity suggested that Syrian and Lebanese intelligence services had a role.

SHOTLIST:

AP TELEVISION

16:9

1. Wide exterior of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL)

2. STL flag

3. STL sign

4. Set-up of STL spokesperson Maren Jusuf

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Marten Jusuf, Special Tribunal for Lebanon spokesperson:

"The significance of today's hearing is that one of the features of the tribunal is that the trial chamber can prosecute the four accused men in their absence, which are known as in absentia trials. What the trial chamber is doing today is listening for submissions from the prosecution and from the defence office to see whether they are convinced whether we should move into in absentia proceedings or not. The prosecution today have submitted arguments, they are requesting that three more months be given and that the Lebanese authorities would be invited here to The Hague to testify on efforts that they have taken to search and arrest the accused."

6. Wide exterior of court

SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON

4:3

7. Wide of judges taking their seats

8. Wide of prosecutors

9. Wide of courtroom

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Iain Morley, Prosecution Lawyer:

"The authorities have moved towards an understanding that these individuals will not be located and will not be arrested and that there will be a trial in absentia, and therefore trial in absentia notice provisions are applicable. But of course your honours haven't made decision yet that there will be trial in absentia proceedings. We are still at the phase where we should be actively looking for the four accused."

11. Wide of courtroom

STORYLINE:

Prosecutors at a UN-backed court set up to try the suspected killers of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri told judges on Friday it is too early to stage a trial in absentia for four Hezbollah members indicted in the assassination.

The fact that judges at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in Leidschendam, the Netherlands are even considering a trial in absentia underscores the difficulty the court faces in having the suspects arrested in a country where the Iranian-backed Shiite militia Hezbollah is the most powerful force.

Hezbollah denies involvement in the February 14, 2005, truck bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others, including the suicide bomber, on a Mediterranean seafront boulevard in Beirut.

Hezbollah's arsenal far outweighs that of Lebanon's national army, and the group's leader has vowed he will never allow a Hezbollah member to arrested

for the killings.

Unusually for an international court, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon's rules allow for the suspects to be tried in their absence if Lebanon fails to arrest them.

But prosecution trial lawyer Iain Morley said Beirut should be given more time to track down and arrest the suspects before judges order a trial in absentia.

Arrest warrants for the four were issued in June.

The four suspects include Mustafa Badreddine, a Hezbollah commander who is also the suspected bombmaker for the 1983 bombing of the US Marine barracks

in Beirut that killed 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.

SHOTLIST:

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

2. Wide of Lebanese supporters for the STL outside the building

3. Close of woman carrying picture of murdered former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and a poster showing the scales of justice

4. Mid of supporters holding Lebanese flags

5. Various of media at first day of STL hearing

6. Wide of news conference where the STL logo is revealed showing scales of justice

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Patricia O'Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel, United Nations:

"It's critical that the people of Lebanon see that this tribunal is an independent and impartial institution. Its establishment constitutes a strong signal that such assassinations and other terrorist attacks will not be tolerated and that impunity cannot be allowed to persist."

8. Wide of news conference

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Daniel Bellemare, prosecutor, Special Tribunal for Lebanon:

"The creation of this Special Tribunal for Lebanon is the result of a tragedy - the killing of a former Prime-minister and of other 22 persons. By the very nature of its mandate, the STL is the first international anti-terrorist tribunal. The creation of tribunal was a political decision. Its operation, however, is and must remain above politics, governed by an impartial and principled approach based on the rule of law."

10. Wide of news conference as Bellemare returns to seat

11. Mid of media

12. Wide of news conference

13. Close of Bellemare leaving podium and shaking hands with other people on stage

STORYLINE

An international tribunal to prosecute suspects in the slaying of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri opened on Sunday in Leidschendam, the Netherlands, with a moment's silence and a pledge to impartially investigate the politically charged case.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) Patricia O'Brien, the Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, within the United Nations, said it was critical that the people of Lebanon saw the tribunal as an "independent and impartial institution."

She said its establishment was intended to send a "strong signal that such assassinations and other terrorist attacks will not be tolerated and that impunity cannot be allowed to persist."

Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare said the tribunal was borne out of the tragedy of Hariri's murder and that of 22 other people.

Bellemare said by the very nature of its mandate, the STL was the first international anti-terrorist tribunal.

He said its creation was a political decision but its operation, however, "is and must remain above politics, governed by impartial and principal approach based on the rule of law."

Bellemare said he would continue his investigations without political interference and would call for Lebanese authorities to turn over four pro-Syrian generals who are suspects in the case.

Bellemare, a Canadian, said he could issue several indictments as a result of his wide-ranging investigation into the 14 February 2005 suicide bombing that killed Hariri and 22 others on a Beirut seaside street, but he would not say when.

The four generals led Lebanon's police, intelligence service and an elite army unit at the time of the assassination.

They are the only suspects in custody, though they have not been formally charged.

The new court has a wing ready to detain suspects in a Hague jail that already holds Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic and former Liberian President Charles Taylor, among other international war crimes suspects.

In Lebanon, hundreds of Hariri supporters gathered near his tomb in downtown Beirut where they watched the opening session from two giant screens.

Earlier, dozens of anti-Syrian lawmakers laid wreaths on Hariri's tomb and those of his bodyguards and aides who were killed with him four years ago.

As prime minister, Hariri, a billionaire businessman, was credited with rebuilding downtown Beirut after the 1975-90 civil war, and with trying to limit Syria's influence.

Many in Lebanon believe Syria was behind the assassination but Damascus denies any involvement.

After the assassination, mass street protests in Lebanon and international pressure forced Syria to withdraw its troops from its neighbour after a 29-year presence.

The court was set up by the UN Security Council in 2007 and comprises seven foreign and four Lebanese judges who have yet to take office.

It is funded by Lebanon and UN member states and based in the Netherlands to ensure the safety of staff and an impartial trial.

It will use Lebanese law, but unlike Lebanese courts cannot impose the death penalty.

Unusually for an international tribunal, it can hold trials in absentia.

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