As someone close to the victims, I am VERY happy with today’s result by the #STL_lebanon . (Thread below)

1/ They demonstrated their professionalism and adherence as a court of LAW. Judgements based on EVIDENCE. Not a court of public opinion.

2/ That they were able to demonstrate GUILT based on limited phone data, by a talented captain (Wissam Eid), is a major achievement.

3/ There was no real cooperation from Lebanese security agencies (barring the assassinated Wissam Eid & Wissam Hassan), no arrests by Lebanon against the accused, no cooperation from Hezbollah, and YET, were still able to demonstrate that Salim Ayyache is guilty, is incredible.

4/ The court did not demonstrate “innocence”; no court does. The accused is presumed innocent until PROVEN guilty. The other 3 accused are not “innocent” (bari2 in Arabic); they are NOT GUILTY; ie the court was not able to demonstrate guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

5/ Next steps should focus on arresting Mr. Ayyache and bringing him to justice. Hezbollah MUST cooperate, & the Lebanese state MUST enforce. Even more so because the #STL_Lebanon proved to be a court of law, and not a kangaroo court as derided by their detractors.

6/ Let's put it another way: Is Israel occupying Palestine? We all know that is is. But in a court of Law, they are occupying Jordan (West Bank annexed by Jordan).

7/ Lesson being: Law does not necessarily guarantee justice. Law is the codification of justice into rules and standards that we can all agree on (evidence, interrogation, due process, etc.)

8/ The #STL_Lebanon demonstrated its commitment to these standards, and those seeking justice, legal justice, should be proud of that.

9/ Now comes the hard part: forcing the state (Lebanon), and the party (Hezbollah), to hand over the accused (Ayyache).

10/ Finally: if you were watching today's court ruling expecting #STL_lebanon judges to sound like @NadimKoteich, I suggest you watch some @QuenTarantino instead.