Trial of suspected Hariri assassins set to begin

The truck bomb assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri sent a sectarian tremor across the Middle East and set off years of upheaval in Lebanon, the consequences of which are still felt across the turbulent region.
Nine years later, the international trial of four Hezbollah suspects is finally set to begin today.
With Sunni-Shiite tensions at an all-time high, exacerbated by the raging civil war in Syria, some fear a fresh outbreak of deadly violence because of a trial it had been hoped would help put an end to Lebanon's long tradition of unsolved political assassinations.
Faith that justice would eventually prevail has faded over time. Many Lebanese believe the tribunal is politicised, and many involved in the investigation have died. None of the suspects have been arrested, and Hezbollah has vowed never to hand them over.

The suicide assassination with a ton of explosives that killed Hariri and 22 others on February 14, 2005 was one of the most dramatic assassinations in the Middle East's modern history, helping fuel sectarian divisions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Violence between members of the two sects has claimed the lives of thousands over the past years mostly in Iraq, Syria, Pakistan and Lebanon.

Hariri, who also held Saudi citizenship, was one of Lebanon's most influential Sunni leaders, with wide connections in the Arab world and international community. Hezbollah, a Shiite group, is backed by Shiite Iran.
In the immediate aftermath of the assassination, suspicion fell on Syria, since Hariri had been seeking to weaken its domination of Lebanon.

Syria has denied any role in the murder, but the killing galvanised opposition to Damascus and led to huge street demonstrations dubbed the "Cedar Revolution" that helped put an end Syria's 29-year military presence in its smaller neighbour.
Lebanon has a history of political assassinations for which no one has ever held accountable. In the emotional days following his death, Hariri supporters called for an international investigation, and a UN-backed court was established in 2009.
"I think that for the first time since 1943, Lebanon is about now to discover the truth through an independent tribunal," said former Justice Minister Charles Rizk, referring to political killings since Lebanon's independence.

The trial opens on the outskirts of The Hague, Netherlands. Four members of the Syria and Iranian-backed Hezbollah group were indicted in 2011 with plotting the attack, but have not been arrested. A fifth was charged late last year in the case and is also still at large.