NNA - Hussein Oneissi's Defence Attorney, Vincent Corsi Labrousse, said on Monday that the STL's prime goal was to reach the whole truth, refusing scenrios deeming Oneissi guilty for the mere fact that he's being tried in abstentia.



"We are independent lawyers and we are not committed to the interests of one party or another," he said.



"All the investigations, from the beginning till the end, indicate that the Attorney General has taken up to nine years to complete his investigations. He has made thousands of interviews and millions of dollars as opposed to the defence team that had only two years in order to study thousands of pages."



Labrousse added that such eventuality had sparked an actual conflict in the situation.



"This will have a direct impact on our defence team, and the evidence that the attorney's office is to present shall constitute a small part of the investigations," he said.



"The current situation in Lebanon does not allow us to carry out necessary investigations. The absence of the accused is not an indicator of guilt, but a trial in absentia puts us in a position of weakness. I'm not defending any legal system, but I want the best system for the accused. Unfortunately, this is not the case," he added.



Oneissi's attorney added, "We defend a person with whom we have no contact and does not participate in his own trial. This is his choice, based on personal or political reasons. Is he alive? I hope so."



"We were not able to investigate directly with our clients. We were hoping to benefit from the state to support our case (...) however, the Lebanese state has failed to respond to the Defence team thus far," he concluded.


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