The UN tribunal and regional implications

Beirut:  A special United Nations tribunal was set up in 2007 to try suspects in the 2005 killing of Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Here are some questions and answers about the tribunal:

How was it set up?

A suicide truck bomber killed Hariri and 22 others in Beirut on February 14, 2005. Anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians said Syria was behind the attack, a charge Damascus denies. An outcry over the killing forced Syria to withdraw its troops from Lebanon.

The Lebanese government, led by an anti-Syrian alliance, asked the United Nations to investigate the crime, along with 20 other political attacks that may have been connected. The UN Security Council established the tribunal in 2007.

Who are the suspects?

No indictments have been issued. The Lebanese authorities released last year four generals in connection with the Hariri killing because of failure to produce evidence.

Detlev Mehlis, the first UN investigator, implicated senior Syrian officials whose names appeared in a draft report but were removed in the final version. Reports by Mehlis's successors, Serge Brammertz and Daniel Bellamare, who is now the prosecutor, have refrained from naming top suspects.

What about suspects not in custody?

If indictments are issued, suspects can surrender voluntarily, the tribunal can ask the Security Council to press states to hand them over, or it can try them in absentia.

Syria has said it will not hand over any of its nationals to the court, but will try them and execute them itself if they are proven guilty. The tribunal is unlikely to accept this or to share its evidence with the Syrian authorities.

Lebanon has cooperated fully with the tribunal, but an election win for Syria's Lebanese allies might alter its stance. Pro-Syrian groups such as Hezbollah say they back the tribunal, but fear it could be used politically against them and Syria.

What are the diplomatic implications?

The United States, other Western countries and anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians initially viewed the tribunal as a potent weapon against Damascus. Syria displayed corresponding anxiety. But as investigations proceeded at a deliberate pace, the tribunal has appeared more independent and less politicised.

US President Barack Obama is exploring a possible detente with Syria, raising fears among anti-Syrian Lebanese politicians that the tribunal might lose its teeth as part of a deal with Damascus. However, Obama marked the anniversary of Hariri's assassination by reaffirming US support for the tribunal in bringing justice to those behind "this horrific crime".