NNA - The Special Tribunal for Lebanon opened its second day of deliberations Friday, with STL Judge Graeme Cameron resuming yesterday's intervention.



"We have reached the third out of 5 stages. The third phase is of paramount importance as it sets the foundations of Hariri's assassination plot. It is necessary to dwell on this phase especially that it focuses on the yellow and orange phone networks and other steps which had been taken to buy the Mitsubishi truck."



After summing up the statement he had delivered yesterday, Cameron presented pictures displaying Abu Adas's movements and connections between Sabra and Oneissi, explaining that both men had contacted each other by phone on the 30th of November, where as the other phone contact took place 6 days later.



"Mobile phone communications between them started increasing by the day, to reach 13 phone calls via the orange phone network the following day," Cameron explained, to later deliver a detailed outline about contacts among defendants in preparation for the attack.



Also, Cameron stressed that Sabra had more active presence in the vicinity of Abu Adas and that at the end of the third phase there had been active communications near Abu Adas's whereabouts.



"Phone calls were made to Ayyash from Tripoli by early January 2005," he added.



He pointed out that observation of Hariri's movement had dramatically increased in January 2005, noting that it was then when the red phone network was purchased.



"This is when preparatory steps were taken to buy the Mitsubishi van from Tripoli in January 2005," Cameron added, noting that the city of Tripoli was specifically chosen to mislead investigations because most of its residents are Sunnis.



"Contacts between people through the yellow phones were detected for the first time in Tripoli in January 2005. Operations monitoring Hariri red and blue networks expanded to include 15 phones. Ayyach used the blue phone on January 10, 2005," Cameron added.



Turning to the fourth stage, Cameron made clear that that had been the phase in which the final attack coordination tools had surfaced."



A single text message was sent by mistake. The red network operated in Beirut in the vicinity of the crime scene. The six red network users were most active in Beirut, Tripoli and Faraya; however, they did not contact other numbers, Cameron added.



"On January 15, Merhi and Badreddine met near Sin el -Fil. Merhi contacted Sabra the same evening. This illustrates the fact that communications began with Merhi and came to an end with Sabra. Abu Aadas went missing from January 16, 2005 and his family was notified the next day. A person who has made contact with the family was informed that Abu Aadas wanted to go to Iraq. After January 17, the orange phones were used in a limited way," Cameron said, suggesting that Abu Aadas's video might have been prepared on February 7, 2005.



Also, according to Cameron, the 5th stage focused on monitoring all Hariri's moves - and this took place within the last week before the attack - as well as coordination for the implementation of the assassination crime.



"On February 8, Rafik Hariri attended a House session while the users of the red phone networks were traced in the same vicinity. Upon Hariri's return to Qreitim, they contacted each other through the green network and remained in Qreitim till late hours."



February 12 signalled the last use of blue and red networks monitoring Hariri. The next day, they followed him to the Church of the Sacred Heart in Badaro, where he presented condolences to Ayache and a 6th person followed him to Qreitim.



Turning to the evening of February 13 and the morning of February 14, Cameron stated that "telephone conversations were limited on the day before the attack. Then the pace of communications through blue and green phones abnormally increased all throughout the night until the morning. At 8 p.m. Ayash visited the House of Parliament and the crime scene. He contacted via the blue network the 6th person, who called in turn the 7th individual."



"On 14 February, 9 blue phones were active. The first 6 were used for surveillance and coordination, while the subject of use of the other three is unknown. Only two green phones were used," he said.



The judge divided the movements of Hariri to 5 stages, between his arrival to the House of Parliament and Place de l'Etoile cafe, until leaving the area in his convoy.



"Contacts and movements intensified just before the attack. Six accomplices moved around noon between the vicinity of Parliament and the scene of the crime."



"In the hours following his inspection of the crime scene, Ayach made a series of phone calls. On February 14, the day of the assassination, 9 blue phones involved in monitoring and coordination were activated. Hariri left Qreitim on the 14th of February to the House of Parliament where he stayed for an hour of time," he added.



"Ayach who was in the vicinity of the House of Parliament, called individual 6 and individual 5, who had gone north of Beirut when Ayach had moved northeast of parliament. All movements between accomplices demonstrate an organized division of labour," addedCameron.


The session was later adjourned for a little break.


===========R.H.