Overview

Lebanese national and Hezbollah member Hussein Hassan Oneissi is wanted by United Nations and Lebanese authorities for his reported key role in the February 14, 2005 murder of Lebanon Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.Special Tribunal for Lebanon, “Hussein Hassan Oneissi,” April 25, 2012, http://www.stl-tsl.org/en/the-cases/stl-11-01/accused/618-hussein-hassan-oneissi. The bomb attack on Hariri’s motorcade also claimed the lives of 21 and injured more than 220.Owen Bowcott, “Trial of Lebanese broadcaster charged with contempt of court opens in Hague,” Guardian, April 16, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/hezbollah-suspect-at-large-journalists-in-dock-at-hague-un-tribunal. Oneissi was being tried in absentia at an international tribunal in The Hague, alongside Hezbollah co-accused Salim Ayyash, Mustafa Badr Al-Din, Hassan Merhi, and Assad Sabra.Martin Chulov, “Rafik Hariri assassination: trial of Hezbollah suspects begins, Guardian, January 16, 2014, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/16/rafik-hariri-assassination-trial-hezbollah-suspects. The Lebanese authorities have failed to arrest the five and Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has “vowed that the United Nations will never capture them.”Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times, February 10, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0.

Oneissi and Sabra were accused of recruiting an individual to falsely take responsibility for the crime and for arranging his disappearance.Owen Bowcott, “Trial of Lebanese broadcaster charged with contempt of court opens in Hague,” Guardian, April 16, 2015, http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/13/hezbollah-suspect-at-large-journalists-in-dock-at-hague-un-tribunal. The individual was later identified as Ahmad Abu Adass.Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times, February 10, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0. The indictment at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) also alleged that Oneissi and Sabra collaborated directly after the attack to disseminate statements falsely attributing responsibility of the attack. The pair also reportedly ensured the delivery of a video-recorded false claim to Beirut’s Al Jazeera branch and its subsequent broadcast. Oneissi has described himself as either “self-employed or as the bookkeeper for his brother’s carpet store.”Ronen Bergman, “The Hezbollah Connection,” New York Times, February 10, 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/magazine/the-hezbollah-connection.html?_r=0.

In August 2020, the STL found Oneissi not guilty on all charges in absentia. He was acquitted of five charges, including “conspiracy aimed at committing a terrorist act, being an accomplice to the felony of intentional homicide of Rafik Hariri . . . [and] 21 other persons,” as well as “attempted intentional homicide of 226 persons.”Special Tribunal for Lebanon, “Hussein Hassan Oneissi Case Information Sheet,” March 2019, https://www.stl-tsl.org/sites/default/files/documents/cis/Oneissi_Case_Info_Sheet_EN.pdf; “Rafik Hariri tribunal: Who were the four accused over 2005 assassination?” BBC News, August 18, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25757367. According to Oneissi’s defense attorneys, prosecutors were unable to prove that he was involved in preparing the false claim of responsibility or in the alleged disappearance of Adass. Salim Ayyash, who was accused of leading the assassination team, was found guilty on all five charges related to the bombing of Hariri’s motorcade.“Rafik Hariri tribunal: Who were the four accused over 2005 assassination?” BBC News, August 18, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-25757367.