BEIRUT: The United Nations-backed court probing the 2005 assassination of statesman Rafik Hariri will not investigate ‘false witnesses’ in the case, the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) said Wednesday.

In a question and answer session with journalists and members of the public on Twitter, STL Registrar Herman von Hebel said that since no allegedly false testimonies had been given to the court, the issue would remain a matter for an initial U.N. investigation.

“For the STL, there are no false witnesses since there have been no witnesses testifying in the courtroom,” von Hebel said on the court’s official Twitter feed. “In case of a false witness before the court, the judges can hold them in contempt of court. Any issues relating to individuals allegedly providing false information to the [U.N. International Independent Investigation Committee (UNIIIC)] is a matter for Lebanon and the U.N.”

Among the charges leveled against the court by detractors is that much of the evidence gathered by the UNIIIC – the initial investigation into Hariri’s assassination – is based on false testimonies. In particular, two self-proclaimed former Syrian intelligence officers, Muhammad Zuhair Siddiq and Husam Taher Husam, provided information to the investigation that has since been discredited.

Both alleged high-level Syrian involvement in Hariri’s killing, and have been living under protection for several years. In 2009, shortly after the STL’s foundation, the Office of Prosecutor Daniel Bellemare declared that Husam and Siddiq were no longer of interest to the court.

Senior March 8 figures have called for the court to investigate the issue of false witnesses.

The court in June accused four Hezbollah members of assassinating Hariri.