Lebanon PM Hariri murder trial starts in The Hague

The trial has started Thursday at a United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague for four men accused of murdering former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, BBC News reported. In 2005, Hariri and 21 others were killed by a massive car bomb blast in Beirut. Lebanon was polarized after the murder of Hariri. The alleged men are members of the Syria-backed militant Shia movement Hezbollah and are being tried in absentia. Judge David Re said that all necessary steps had been taken to try to bring the accused to court, BBC said. Hezbollah, however, denies its involvement in the assassination. The 2005 bomb attack also wounded 226 more. The Special Tribunal was set up in 2007 to investigate the bombing. Rafik Hariri / Wikipedia