The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is investigating the 2005 assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In a letter to the UN secretary-general, Lebanon asked the UN to find ways of financing the tribunal after funding difficulties. The UN tribunal was created by a 2007 UN Security Council resolution, and has run out of funding due to Lebanon’s economic and political crisis.
The funding crisis threatens plans for future trials. The tribunal could close after July if funding is not restored. The tribunal is funded by voluntary donations and the Lebanese government at 51 and 49%, respectively. A new trial, set to begin on June 16, prosecuting Salim Jamil Ayyash for an assassination and attacks on Lebanese politicians between 2004 and 2005 was canceled due to the financial crisis. The financial crisis began in late 2019 and has put more than half the population under the poverty line and caused approximately 90% of the value of the currency to erode.
Read more: Lebanon urges UN to find alternative funding for Hariri tribunal
