Head of Defense at the Special Tribunal for Lebanon Judge Francois Roux stressed the indictment that will be issued by Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare is not a final verdict in ex-Premier Rafik Hariri's assassination case.
"We should know that the indictment is just the beginning ... It is not the final decision or verdict," Roux told An Nahar and As Safir newspapers in remarks published Friday.

He made his comment after signing a memorandum of understanding with Justice Minister Ibrahim Najjar. The MoU "gives the defense team all the freedom to carry out all necessary investigations on Lebanese territories," Roux said.

He stressed that in international penal law many people have been declared innocent after the indictment had accused them.

"No one knows when the indictment will be filed. Even the prosecutor doesn't know," Roux told the dailies.

Asked about false witnesses, the judge told As Safir: "The prosecutor could decide to summon them ... nothing prevents the defense lawyer from summoning a former false witness."

His comment came as Bellemare's office told the newspaper that the prosecutor had stressed he was no longer concerned about false witness Mohammed Zuhair Siddiq.