STL

Bulletin
July 2015
The STL Bulletin provides a monthly overview of the latest developments, news and visits to the Special Tribunal
for Lebanon. It is not a judicial document with legal authority. It is one of a number of public information
documents produced by the Tribunal. You can view them all at http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/news-and-press.

Judicial developments
The Prosecutor v. Ayyash et al. (STL-11-01)1
No hearings are scheduled during the summer judicial
recess (27 July-14 August). Before going into recess,
counsel for the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) indicated that Edward Philips will appear as an expert
witness in the area of cell site analysis to describe the
technical working of mobile companies and networks.
Following Mr Philips, the OTP intends to call three
viva voce (in-person) witnesses to present evidence on
the origins and nature of the network phones (purchase
of the SIM cards; purchase of the handsets; and the
location and time of the purchases). At the conclusion, evidence will be presented regarding the origin
of the call data records (CDRs) from the companies
in Lebanon; evidence of how the OTP received and
managed that data; and of how that data was organised through the creation of the call sequence tables
(CSTs).
1

On 7 July, PRH115, a witness who is subject to protective measures, appeared before the Trial Chamber via
1

This section provides an overview of courtroom hearings in the Ayyash

et al. case only. All the public filings in this case are available on our
website: http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/the-cases/stl-11-01/filings

A CST presents a chronological and complete sequence

of calls relating to a particular phone number (target
number) over a specified period of time. The CSTs detail
characteristics of a call, including the other telephone
numbers with which the target number was in contact;
the date and time of the call; the type of call (either
voice or SMS); its duration; information on the handset
used by the target number; and cell information on the
cell sector used by the target number at the start of the
call. CSTs occasionally may also include information
on the cell sector used at the end of the call, which is
referred to as end cell data. SMS CSTs present the SMS
content sent and received by a phone over a relevant date
range in a consistent accessible format. The SMS CSTs
provide the date and time of the SMS; the other telephone number involved; the direction of the SMS; and
its content.
The OTP indicated that there are two types of source
materials. One is files that are for a particular phone
number of interest; the other type is the bulk data, which
is for multiple numbers. In the case of the latter, it is
imported by the database administrator into a Structured Query Language (SQL) database. In the case of
individual text files, that is not necessary.

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videolink. The witnesss testimony revolved around the

content of a series of text messages sent and received
by her/his phone on 14 February 2005. Some of those
messages were sent or received when the witness was
on her/his way to the Al-Jazeera TV office in Beirut on
that day, whereas others were sent or received during
the period when s/he collected the videotape from
a tree in a parking lot at the Riad Al Solh Square in
Beirut. The videotape relates to an alleged false claim
of responsibility of the 14 February 2005 attack.
The Prosecution questioned PRH115 regarding her/
his activities immediately following the attack, and
how s/he arrived to her/his workplace and how s/he
collected the videotape, which was left in an envelope
in a white box on a tree.

On 8 and 9 July, Mr Ghassan Ben-Jeddo testified

before the Trial Chamber via videolink. Mr Ben-Jeddo
was the bureau chief of Al-Jazeera in Beirut during
2004 and 2005. His testimony focused on the work
of Al-Jazeera and his own role at the time. The witness
was also asked about the events that took place on
14 February 2005, the live coverage by Al-Jazeera
on that day, and the claim of responsibility calls that
the Al-Jazeera office received. Mr Ben-Jeddo was also
asked about how the Lebanese security authorities and
former head of General Security, Mr Jamil El-Sayed,2
contacted him to collect the videotape.
On 9 and 10 July, Defence counsel for Mr Sabra,
Mr Oneissi and Mr Badreddine cross-examined Mr
Ben-Jeddo. Counsel asked the witness about the chronology of events on 14 February 2005 and about the
claim of responsibility calls that the Al-Jazeera office
received. He was also questioned about the interview
he had with the military Investigative Judge Rachid
Mezher on 17 February 2005, and about two interviews with Lebanese Investigative Judge Michel AbouArraj on 9 March 2005 and with Lebanese Investigative Judge Elias Eid on 9 April 2005. The witness was
additionally cross-examined on the broadcast of the
videotape received by Al-Jazeera containing the statement of El-Nusra-wal-Jihad in Greater Syria, the group
which claimed responsibility for the assassination of
PM Hariri. The witness was also questioned about
some members of the Islamic Movement in Lebanon,
Jamaa Islamiya, as well as about a number of individuals with whom Mr Ben-Jeddo exchanged calls and
messages.

All public transcripts in the Ayyash et al. case are available

on our website in Arabic, English and French.

On 7 and 8 July, Defence counsel for Mr Oneissi, Mr

Sabra and Mr Badreddine cross-examined PRH115.
Counsel for Mr Oneissi cross-examined the witness
about her/his statement; the short message service call
sequence tables (SMS CSTs) that the OTP had created
with respect to the messages that PRH115 had sent
or received; what s/he did and with whom s/he had
contact after the explosion on 14 February 2005; as
well as the investigations by the Lebanese authorities and the United Nations Fact-Finding Commission. Counsel for Mr Oneissi also cross-examined
PRH115 on the calls that Al-Jazeera received on 14
February 2005 for the purpose of picking-up the videotape allegedly claiming responsibility for the attack.
Defence counsel for Mr Sabra and Mr Badreddine
cross-examined witness PRH115. The cross-examination focused on the statement the witness gave to the
ISF in April 2005 and the record of her/his interview
with the Fact-Finding Mission of the United Nations
in March 2005. The questions asked related to the
claim of responsibility videotape provided to Al-Jazeera
TV, and the events that took place on the evening of
14 February 2005, as well as about an employee who
worked at Al-Jazeera in 2005. The witness was also
questioned about the period in which s/he left her/his
home to go to the office on 14 February 2005, and
about the time when s/he left the Al-Jazeera office to
go and get the videotape.

On 13 July, protected witness PRH430 gave her/his

testimony before the Trial Chamber. The witness in
2005 was an employee for the company BBSC that
worked with Al-Jazeera TV in Beirut. The witness was
asked about the location of the company, the witnesss
activities on 14 February 2005, and her/his role
when s/he arrived at the explosion site, as well as the
footage and live coverage aired by Al-Jazeera that day.
Additionally, the witness testified about the claim of
responsibility call s/he received at the Al-Jazeera office,
and about two individuals s/he was in contact with by
phone.
Defence counsel for Mr Oneissi and Mr Sabra cross-examined witness PRH430. The witness was questioned
about the chronology of events on the day of the explosion, including her/his locations, duration of time it

The witness was re-examined afterwards by the Prosecution on the timing the witness collected the videotape from the tree and the timing of the text messages
s/he exchanged about finding it.

2 Mr Jamil El Sayed was one of the four Generals detained by the

Lebanese authorities from 30 August 2005 to 29 April 2009 in
connection with the Hariri case. The Pre-Trial Judge ordered his
immediate release on 29 April 2009.

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

took her/him to go from one location to another, in

addition to the phone calls s/he made and messages
s/he exchanged. S/he was also asked about the claim
of responsibility call that s/he received at the Al-Jazeera
office.

it reflects his evidence, and about the type of work he

performed while working in the OTP.
Defence counsel for Mr Oneissi cross-examined the
witness, asking about his previous work at the STL and
the UNIIIC, including the photo-boards he produced
for the Accused Mr Oneissi and Mr Sabra.

On 14 July, protected witness PRH012 testified before

the Trial Chamber via videolink. The witness testified
about her/his employment at Reuters News Agency
in Beirut in 2005, the location of the Reuters office

On 15 and16 July, Mr Matthew Barrington testified

before the Trial Chamber. Mr Barrington previously

To download highresolution pictures of

the STL Judges and
parties, check our
Flickr account.

and what s/he did throughout the day on 14 February

2005. Additionally, the witness testified about the
claim of responsibility call s/he received at the Reuters
office. The witness was then examined by the Legal
Representative of Victims about the period s/he was
at the scene of the explosion on the day of the attack.

worked for the UNIIIC and is currently an analyst for

the STL OTP. He was asked about the witness statement he gave on 22 May 2015, and the one he gave on
4 June 2015, which included a correction to an inadvertent error made in the first statement. The witness
testified about the film footage from Al-Jazeera of 14
February 2005, and the charts he prepared during his
work at the STL in relation to it.

Defence counsel for Mr Sabra cross-examined the

witness about the phone calls received by the Reuters
office on the day of the bombing, including the claim
of responsibility call s/he received, the witness statement s/he gave to the United Nations International
Independent Investigation Commission (UNIIIC) in
July 2007, and the witness statement s/he gave to the
UNIIIC in August 2005. S/he was also asked about the
witness statement of March 2005 to the ISF, and the
witness statement taken by Investigative Judge Michel
Abou-Arraj in March 2005.

Defence counsel for Mr Sabra cross-examined Mr

Barrington about the nature of his work at the STL and
his previous work at the UNIIIC, as well as circumstances surrounding the writing of his witness statements. He was also asked about his witness statements
of 22 May 2015 and 5 June 2013. He was cross-examined on the timers that appeared on the New TV video
footage covering the events of 14 February 2005 that
were shown live on Al-Jazeera.

On 14 and 15 July, Mr Lorenzo Lanzi gave his testimony before the Trial Chamber. Mr Lanzi is a criminalist with the Geneva police in Switzerland and was
a former associate forensic expert in the OTP at the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) and UNIIIC. The
Prosecution asked Mr Lanzi about the witness statement he gave to the OTP on 12 June 2015, whether

In the week commencing 20 July, the Prosecution

presented the evidence of five witnesses who were
responsible for the creation of call sequence tables
(CSTs).
The first of the five witnesses was Kei Kamei who testified before the Trial Chamber on 20 July 2015. Ms
Kamei has been an analyst with the OTP since 2009

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

and was formerly with the UNIIIC (2006-2009). Her

testimony was focused on the production of CSTs and
SMS CSTs. In Ms Kameis witness statements, she
described having produced 46 CSTs and 3 SMS CSTs.

about the methodology that she used; the format and

accuracy of the tables; any anomalies or errors that she
observed and corrected when creating CSTs; and the
review and validation processes.

Ms Kameis evidence focused on her written statements

to the OTP, in which she described source materials
that she used to produce the CSTs; the general methodology she employed; and any specific observation
she may have in respect of the CSTs she produced for
the STLs OTP. The witness specified that the CSTs are
based on CDRs originating from Lebanese telephone
service providers. The telephone numbers of interest
featured in the CSTs form part of the telephone
networks which the Prosecution alleges were used in
the conspiracy to assassinate former Prime Minister
Hariri. During her testimony, Ms Kamei provided
examples of phone activities believed to be responsible
in the surveillance of the former PM.

Counsel for Mr Badreddine cross-examined the

witness about the accuracy of the reports produced
and the formatting errors that she rectified during her
work, in addition to the validation process of certain
CSTs. Counsel for Mr Ayyash questioned the witness
about the review and validation processes. Counsel for
Mr Merhis cross-examination revolved around Ms
Habrakens background prior to working as an analyst
for the STLs OTP; the CSTs that she created; the
reporting line of the OTP analysts; and the procedural
requirements to rectify CSTs. Counsel for the Prosecution re-examined the witness about the peer review
process for detecting formatting errors. The Judges
asked the witness about the source materials used in
the creation of CSTs.

On 21 July, Ms Kamei resumed giving evidence related

to quality assurance schemes in the production of
CSTs. According to the witness, peer analysts from the
OTP team would compare the data in a CST with the
corresponding raw data. She testified that the margin
of errors for CSTs is very small in proportion to the
entire CSTs. The same day, the witness also discussed
the production of roaming CSTs; how land-line and
telecard data appear in CSTs; and CSTs for forwarded
numbers.

Lachlan Christie appeared before the Trial Chamber

on 22 July. Mr Christie has been an analyst with the
OTP since April 2009. In his witness statement, Mr
Christie described having produced three CSTs. Mr
Christie further described what a CST is; the details
included in a CST, as well as the CDRs on which he
relied. Presiding Judge David Re asked the witness
about the margin of error in the CSTs and the peer
review process.

Counsel for Mr Badreddine cross-examined the witness

about the CSTs she produced; the witness statement
that she gave to the OTP and other witness statements
about CSTs; the review (or quality assurance scheme)
process; the accuracy and reliability of the CSTs and
the CDRs. Counsel for Mr Merhi cross-examined Ms
Kamei on the possibility of discrepancies in the source
material and the result that such conflicting material
could have on the table she produced.

Counsel for Mr Merhi questioned Mr Christie on his

professional background. Counsel for Mr Badreddine
asked the witness about the accuracy of CSTs.

On 21 July, Andrew Donaldson, an analyst in the OTP,

gave evidence about the 45 CSTs that he produced
in relation to particular phone numbers relevant to
the OTPs case; the error that he found in one of the
tables; the level of accuracy of the CSTs; the review
and data validation standards. Counsel for Mr Badreddine asked the witness about the review process that
is adopted. Counsel for Mr Merhi cross-examined Mr
Donaldson about possible mistakes in the CSTs.

Christian Carnus, an analyst in the OTP since 2009,

testified on 22 July. In his witness statement, Mr
Carnus described having produced 12 SMS content
CSTs. He said those were produced to display SMS
content provided by one of the Lebanese communications service providers about the SMSs content
starting in February 2004. The SMS content CSTs
present the content in a consistent format, showing the
date and time of the SMS; the other telephone number
involved; the direction of the message and its content.
Mr Carnus also described the methodology on which
he relied for the creation of those tables. Additionally,
the witness was asked about his level of confidence
with respect to the CSTs he produced and the peer
review process.

Helena Habraken, also an analyst in the OTP, testified on 22 July on what a CST is, and detailed what
is included in it. She also described the sources and
the CDRs used in producing the 27 individual CSTs
for which she was responsible. In addition, she spoke

On 22 July, the Prosecution read a summary of Nadine

Stanfords witness statement, in which she described
having produced 29 CSTs. She also described the
sources that she used to produce the CSTs, specifically
bulk data received from Lebanese telecommunications

Document provided by the Public Information and Communications Section of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon

companies, as well as individual text files received from

one of these telecommunications companies. Ms Stanford detailed all specific CDRs she used in producing
each individual CST.
In the hearing on 22 July, the Prosecution presented
written evidence relating to former PM Hariris
movements and political events he attended. More
specifically, the Prosecution presented a batch of
United Nations Information Centre press reviews;
a batch of exit and entry records; and a third batch
of 11 remaining items such as a telephone directory,

photographs, copies of newspaper clippings, decrees,

parliamentary meeting notes, and other UN-related
documents.
In the hearing on 23 July, the Prosecution resumed
presenting evidence before the Trial Chamber. In addition to the above-mentioned material, the Prosecution
presented geographic documents and business records
related to the Prosecution case.
At the conclusion of the hearing, the Prosecution
discussed the appearance of witnesses in the week
commencing 18 August, following the Court recess.

News and Press

For the second year in a row, on 17 July, the STL

participated in the International Criminal Justice Day
campaign to renew its commitment to justice. The
campaign allowed various STL principals and staff
members to express what Justice means to them.
In July, the STL accommodated a Thai Delegation, members of the office of the Thai judiciary in
Bangkok. The delegation visited the Tribunal and

had briefings with several Organs about the work of

the STL. Furthermore, a group of students from the
Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies (in the
Netherlands) visited the STL.
You can book a visit for a group of at least 10 people by
filling in the online booking form no later than one month
prior to the proposed date of visit.

www.stl-tsl.org
Dokter van der Stamstraat 1, 2265 BC Leidschendam, Netherlands PO Box 115, 2260 AC Leidschendam, Netherlands.
For more information please contact the Public Information and Communications Section: stl-pressoffice@un.org Tel : +31 (0) 70 800 3560 / 3828 and +961 4 538 100 (Beirut)
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