The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which is hearing the case of the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, has announced that it will issue its ruling on August 7.
The court, based in the Netherlands, said in a statement that it "issued today, Friday, an order to fix a date for pronouncing the verdict" in the case against 4 suspects from the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla group who are being tried in absentia.
Because of the new Corona virus, "the verdict" will be read from the courtroom with partial virtual participation, according to the statement.
Hariri, who was the Prime Minister of Lebanon until his resignation in October 2004, was assassinated in February 2005, when the equivalent of 1,800 kilograms of TNT exploded, as his convoy passed by the St. George Hotel in Beirut.
The explosion killed 21 people and wounded 226, and Syria, which had great influence in Lebanon, was charged.
The event then constituted a threat to Hezbollah, which faces accusations that it denies involvement in the assassination, and Syria also endured part of the anger of the Lebanese and international streets, due to its military and intelligence presence in Lebanon.
The court was established by a United Nations decree in 2007 and began its deliberations in The Hague in 2009.
In January 2011, the court charged five members of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Mustafa Badr al-Din, Salim Ayyash, Hussein Anisi and Asad Sabra, with the assassination of Hariri and 21 people, and the legal prosecution of Badr al-Din was dropped after his killing in Syria in 2016.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah refuses to hand over the suspects, and he warned the court, saying "Don't play with fire," while Syrian President Bashar al-Assad considered the court a tool "to pressure Hezbollah."