Trial of Hezbollah Members Accused of Assassinating Former Lebanon PM Rafik Hariri Opens
Defendants not present
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon opened the trial in absentia on Thursday against four Hezbollah defendants alleged to have assassinated former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri and killed 21 others on February 14, 2005.
The case has riled, divided and inflamed already hot disputes between Lebanon's Sunni and Shi'ite population, with Sunnis demanding justice and Hezbollah claiming the case was pushed forward by Western countries trying to reduce and besmirch its name.