- published: 17 Jan 2014
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Rafik Hariri murder trial begins at The Hague For more Latest and Breaking News Headlines SUBSCRIBE to http://www.youtube.com/user/24X7Break... The trial of four men accused of murdering former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri has begun at an unprecedented tribunal at The Hague. The four - alleged associates of the Syria-backed militant Shia movement Hezbollah - have not been arrested and are being tried in absentia. Hariri and 22 others were killed by a massive car bomb in Beirut in 2005. The killings polarised Lebanon and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops. Hezbollah denies any involvement. It instead says the assassination was part of an Israeli and US conspiracy. Shortly before the trial was to start, a bomb blast was reported near a government building in the town of Hermel - a Hezbollah stronghold. At least two people were killed and 15 wounded in the attack in the town, which is in the Bekaa Valley, near the northern border with Syria. Fifth suspect In his address at the start of the trial, judge David Re said it had been decided that all necessary steps had been taken to try to bring the accused to court. He said that the court would proceed as if the defendants were present and that, although no pleas had been entered, they would be presumed to have pleaded not guilty and it would be the prosecution's task to prove guilt beyond all reasonable doubt. In his opening statement, prosecutor Norman Farrell said the amount of explosives used showed the attackers had intended to send "a terrifying message and to cause panic among the population of Beirut and Lebanon". He added: "It is not that the perpetrators simply did not care if they killed their fellow citizens. Rather they intended to do so." Hariri's son, Saad, and other family members are at the trial. The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says the UN-backed trial is a unique occasion - the first time that a terrorism charge has come before an international court and the first international trials in absentia since the post-World War Two Nuremberg prosecutions. The bomb attack that killed Hariri and 22 others and wounded 226 more on 14 February 2005 was a seismic event in Lebanese history, fuelling the sectarian divisions between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the country. Supporters of Hariri, one of Lebanon's most influential Sunni leaders, blamed Syria for the attack. There were massive demonstrations against Syrian troops who had been stationed in the country since 1976. They left a few months later. The UN set up the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2007 to investigate the bombing. It issued warrants in 2011 for Mustafa Badreddine, Salim Ayyash, Hussein Oneissi, and Assad Sabra. TAGS abc breaking news, bbc, bbc football, bbc iplayer, bbc news, bbc news america, bbc persian, bbc sport, bbc weather, bbc world news, breaking celebrity news, breaking election news, breaking late news, breaking local news, breaking music news, breaking news, breaking news alerts, breaking news canada, breaking news headlines, breaking news in atlanta, breaking news in nigeria, breaking news india, breaking news pensacola florida, breaking news plane crash, breaking news story, breaking sports news, business expensive news home media world, christian world news, cnn, cnn breaking news, cnn money, cnn news, cnn news breaking news, cnn news world, detroit breaking news, global news, headline, headline news, health care technology news, hot latest global news, internet technology news, las vegas breaking news, latest breaking news, latest celebrity news, latest information technology news, latest music news, latest news, latest news headlines, latest news update, latest sports news, live breaking news, local breaking news, local news today, msn breaking news, nbc breaking news, nbc world news, news of the world, news report us world, news today news, news updated daily, solar technology news, sports news today, technology news, the latest news, today news, us news and world, us news and world report, us news and world report magazine, us news and world report web site, us news world report, world news, world news daily, world news headlines Rafik Hariri murder trial begins at The Hague For more Latest and Breaking News Headlines SUBSCRIBE to https://www.youtube.com/user/ZakWorld... The trial of four men accused of murdering former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri has begun at an unprecedented tribunal at The Hague. The four - alleged associates of the Syria-backed militant Shia movement Hezbollah - have not been arrested and are being tried in absentia. Hariri and 22 others were killed by a massive car bomb in Beirut in 2005. The killings polarised Lebanon and led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops. Hezbollah denies any involvement. It instead says the assassination was part of an Israeli and US conspiracy. Shortly before the trial was to start, a bomb blast was reported near a government building in the town of Hermel - a Hezbollah stronghold. At least two people were killed and 15 wounded in