Judges in the Special Tribunal for Lebanon are to deliver their verdict on Friday in the case in which four defendants accused of masterminding the bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and 21 others, in February 2005.

Below is information on the case:

The court

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is an international tribunal established by the United Nations and Lebanon to try those accused of bombing and those accused of other political killings in Lebanon around the same period.

Friday's ruling will be its first ruling since its inception in 2007.

The accused

The defendants who are being tried in absentia are Salim Jamil Ayyash, Hassan Habib Mar'i, Asad Hasan Sabra and Hussein Hassan Anisi, and they belong to Hezbollah.

They were all charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist act, while Ayyash was charged with committing a terrorist act and of murder and attempted murder.

They were not specifically charged with causing the bombing, and Hezbollah denies involvement in the Hariri assassination.

Where they are

Nothing is known about the whereabouts of the accused. The authorities did not detain them nor did they participate in the trial, although the judges ruled that the defendants were aware of the charges against them.

The accused have not appeared in public or spoken in public since the trial began, and there has been no contact between them and the court-appointed lawyers to represent them. If they appear at any time during the examination of the case, they are entitled to retrial or appeal the verdict.

The prosecution

Prosecutors led by Canadian Norman Farrell say Ayash was central to planning and carrying out the assassination.

They add that the other three men accused of being partners in the assassination plot also helped prepare a false statement of responsibility for the bombing to divert attention.

Prosecutors say the men may have been motivated, as Hezbollah supporters, by the desire to continue the Syrian role in Lebanon, a policy that Hariri was a threat to.

The evidence

During the trial between 2014 and 2018, the judges heard 297 witnesses. Prosecutors presented what they described as a "mosaic of evidence" mostly based on mobile phone records.

Prosecutors say the pattern of phone calls shows that the four men were observing Hariri in the months before the assassination and that they helped coordinate the attack and its timing.

Defense

Lawyers for the defendants say that there is no direct evidence linking their clients to the phone calls identified by the prosecution. Lawyers requested an acquittal.

Judgment

The court’s ruling on Friday will only clarify whether it has been confirmed that the four defendants are guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

If the conviction is pronounced, other court hearings will be held, and the maximum possible penalty in the event of conviction is life imprisonment.

The Hague Court

The United Nations established the court in Leidschendam, a suburb of The Hague, the Netherlands, which includes numerous international tribunals, for security purposes and to ensure that its work proceeds with integrity and independence.

The basic rules of the court are based on Lebanese criminal law and international law, and its body is composed of Lebanese and international judges.