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The Special Tribunal for Lebanon Enters Its Second Year of Operations, but Challenges Loom
DEVELOPMENTSFour years after United Nations Security Council Resolution 1664 requested its creation, and more than a year after its first plenary session, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) is gearing up to face its most important challenge: the trial phase.To date, the tribunal has released four key suspects (the only people held in custody in relation to the case) for lack of evidence sufficient to indict them, and entered into a number of agreements: most notably, a Lebanese deferment of jurisdiction over the Hariri case to the Netherlands-based tribunal. The tribunal is likely to face much tougher challenges in its second year, as it prepares for the possibility of issuing its first indictments, and fights criticism of its effectiveness.