Due to a lack of evidence, only Salim Ayache was found guilty by the Special Court in The Hague of involvement in the car bomb attack that claimed the life of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri in 2005. verdict that leaves a bitter taste in the Lebanese.

In The Hague, the Netherlands, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, delivered its verdict in the trial for the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri 15 years ago in Beirut. The four defendants were suspected of being involved in the car bomb attack which claimed the life of the leader and left 21 dead. But only one was convicted, and the other three acquitted for lack of evidence. What feed the disappointment of Lebanese society after all these years of investigation.

Salim Ayache, now 56, is the only one to have been found guilty. The prosecution failed to recognize the involvement of the other three men, a heavy defeat for the prosecutor according to several observers. The political scientist specializing in the Middle East Joseph Bahout evokes a retreat, because neither Hezbollah nor the Syrian regime are involved after being singled out at the time of the facts. "The judgment leaves aside any accusation or any presumption against Syria. We begin to hear in the streets, in Beirut, a great disappointment. On the side of Hezbollah there is probably a rather broad satisfaction to see this affair come to an end. in such a minimal way ", he explains to Europe 1.

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The silence of Saad Hariri

Salim Ayache, like the other defendants, was not present at the time of the trial. Hezbollah has always rejected responsibility for this attack and therefore never handed over the suspects. He risks life imprisonment if he ever comes to court.

Saad Hariri, the son of the former prime minister, took note of this decision. He is not asking Hezbollah to deliver the accused to justice. And for good reason: he is currently in a special position since he is a favorite in Lebanon to form a new government, two weeks after the double explosion that ravaged Beirut. He therefore plays appeasement, and could seek to cooperate with the Chiiite movement according to some observers, without which he will not be able to take the head of the country.