Life Sentences Imposed in Hariri Assassination Case

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon issued a verdict of five life sentences against Hassan Merhi and Hussein Anaissi for their participation in the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In response to the decision, Future Movement leader Saad Hariri tweeted: "After the conviction of Salim Ayyash in the assassination of the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his companions, the Appeals Chamber of the Special Tribunal unanimously imposed life sentences on two other members of Hezbollah, Hassan Merhi and Hussein Anaissi. This penalty is the harshest stipulated in the statute and the rules adopted by the court, but it is also the clearest in terms of condemning Hezbollah as the party responsible for organizing and carrying out the crime, and the party that cannot evade its responsibility in handing over the convicted individuals and implementing the penalties against them. History will not forgive."