Hague court clears Lebanese journalist

arma Khayat was cleared of the main charge but convicted of contempt of court

A Lebanese TV journalist and her station have been cleared of obstructing justice by a UN-backed tribunal investigating the 2005 killing of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

Karma Khayat and Al Jadeed had been accused of having revealed details about key protected witnesses.

But Ms Khayat was convicted of contempt of court for failing to remove broadcasts about the case online.

Five men accused of the killing are being tried in absentia.

Mr Hariri died along with 21 others when his motorcade was hit by a massive bomb blast in the Lebanese capital Beirut on 14 February 2005.

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) was set up by the United Nations to try those accused in connection with the killings.

The five suspects still at large have been linked to the militant Shia Islamist movement, Hezbollah.

Ms Khayat was the first defendant to take the stand at the STL.

Prosecutors alleged the journalist and Al Jadeed had deliberately set out to reveal the identities of witnesses who had been promised anonymity.

The tribunal was set up to investigate the killing of Mr Hariri in a huge bomb blast in Beirut in 2005

Ms Khayat said the list of names she published was redacted, which made it impossible to identify any witnesses.

She said her reports had exposed alleged leaks coming from the tribunal and accused the court of attempting to silence criticism of it.

Although Ms Khayat was cleared of the main charge, the judge said she had committed contempt of court for ignoring a ruling ordering the removal online of 2012 broadcasts to do with the case.