Nasrallah puts number on STL indictments

BEIRUT, Lebanon, July 28 (UPI) -- As many as 50 members of Hezbollah could be indicted by a tribunal investigating the death of a former Lebanese prime minister, the group's leader said.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon is investigating the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

The German news magazine Der Spiegel in 2009 published a report saying it had evidence from the STL that linked cellphone records from Hezbollah to the Hariri assassination.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said last week he expected several members of the Shiite movement to be indicted by the tribunal later this year. He added the indictments were against individual members and not the party itself.

The secretary-general in his latest comments said as many as 50 members of his Shiite resistance movement could be named by the U.N.-backed tribunal.

"First, three indictments will be issued, then five, then 20 and then 50," he was quoted by Lebanese newspaper the Daily Star as saying.

Members of the STL allegedly spoke with several members of Hezbollah during their investigations in March.

Nasrallah added he was ready to engage in strategic talks in Beirut if it meant protection for Lebanon.