Bitar Prosecutes Diab and ex-Ministers, Officers over Port Blast

W460

The Lebanese judge leading the investigation into last year's massive explosion at Beirut's port announced Friday he intends to pursue senior politicians and former and current security chiefs in the case, and requested permission for their prosecution, state media reported.

The move -- two days before the 11-month anniversary of the horrific blast -- was praised by families of the victims and survivors as a bold step by Bitar, whose predecessor was removed following legal challenges by two former ministers he had accused of negligence that led to the explosion.

Judge Tarek Bitar confirmed charges filed by his predecessor against outgoing Prime Minister Hassan Diab and summoned him for questioning, National News Agency reported. He did not set a date.

Bitar also asked the government and the interior ministry for permission to question two of Lebanon's most prominent security chiefs -- the head of General Security Directorate, Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, and the head of State Security, Maj. Gen. Tony Saliba.

Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi later announced that he would grant Bitar the permission to prosecute Ibrahim seeing as the request "respects all the legal norms."

Separately, he asked parliament to lift immunity for two legislators who were charged by his predecessor, and a former interior minister -- Nouhad al-Mashnouq. Bitar also filed charges against former army commander Gen. Jean Qahwaji and former head of military intelligence Brig. Gen. Camille Daher, as well as two other retired intelligence generals, and said he will also be pursuing judges.

Nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been improperly stored in the port for years, exploded on Aug. 4, killing 211 people, injuring more than 6,000 and devastating nearby neighborhoods.

The blast was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded and was the most destructive single incident in Lebanon's troubled history.

William Noon, whose brother, Joe, a firefighter, was killed while extinguishing the massive fire that led to the port blast, said Bitar was starting to deliver on his promises.

"Today I felt that there is hope and that we are going somewhere," he told The Associated Press, adding that the charges filed by Bitar were similar to those of his predecessor, an indication that those persons were apparently to blame.

Noon, however, said he expected interference from politicians, adding that the families plan to take to the streets if Bitar is not allowed to carry on with his work.

"Judge Tarek Bitar has taken a very courageous decision," wrote Lebanese lawyer and activist Nizar Saghieh on Twitter. "He is opening again the battle of (lifting) immunities against influential people."

It was not immediately clear if Diab would accept to be questioned by Bitar, after declining to be interrogated by the former prosecutor, Fadi Sawwan, last December. In an interview with the AP late last year, Diab, who had resigned following the explosion, said he was being singled out and charged while others knew more, calling it "diabolical."

He formally asked parliament to lift immunity of three lawmakers: former Finance Minster Ali Hassan Khalil, former Minister of Public Works Ghazi Zoaiter and former Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq. He also asked the Bar Association for permission to question former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos.

NNA said they will be questioned over possible intentional crimes of killing and negligence. Families of the victims and survivors of the blast have accused the ruling political class of corruption and negligence that led to the explosion of ammonium nitrates.

Ali Hassan Khalil and Zoaiter are members of the bloc of Lebanon's powerful Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, and along with Fenianos are strong allies of Hizbullah.

Bitar was named to lead the investigation in February after Sawwan was removed following legal challenges by senior officials he had accused of negligence that led to the blast.

In mid-April, Bitar ordered the release of six people, including security officers, who had been detained for months. Among those released was an officer who had written a detailed warning to top officials prior to the explosion about the dangers of the material stored at the port. On Friday, he also ordered the release of General Security officer Major Daoud Fayyad and the engineer Nayla al-Hajj.

Comments 11
Thumb justice 02 July 2021, 16:15

Interesting to say the least:)!

He filed charges against Jean Qahwaji but not Joesph Aoun..... At the time of the explosion, Joesph Aoun had been Army Commander for almost 3 years!

What about Michel Aoun who acknowledged being informed of the dangers and consequences of storing the explosive material and did NOTHING?! Add to that, Aoun is head of the National Defense Council that includes all the heads of the security agencies.

In my opinion, this is very political. Having said that, it does not mean those named in his decision should not be prosecuted.

Thumb marcus 02 July 2021, 16:58

"For once,let s give credit without criticizing."

So according to you it is logical to only prosecute the ex army commander and not the current one; the ex-interior minister and not the current one; exclude the current interior minister and go straight to the prime minister.

We need to give you credit for your limited analytical skills or lack of.

Missing un520 02 July 2021, 23:14

This is all depending of the information both the generals received, and how they acted on the information. None of us are in a position to comment on this until a court case. I find it strange to reject the work of the judge with the little info we got. If we do that we are playing into the guilty peoples hands when we hire and fire judges until the whole case is pulverized.

Thumb marcus 03 July 2021, 02:27

@un520

The explosion happened under the watch of the current president, prime minister, army commander, army intelligence, interior minister, ISF, internal security, defense minister, etc and not the watch of the previous ones. It is only logical to assume they were all negligent in carrying out their duties as much as the previous officials some of whom the judge has requested their prosecution. If the current officials were not negligent, the explosion would not have happened. The army is quick to arrest someone who has a gun in certain area of Lebanon, yet it did nothing to dispose of the nitrate at the port for 3 years under Joseph Aoun's watch. All of them means all of them!

Thumb warrior 03 July 2021, 07:18

"The army is quick to arrest someone who has a gun in certain area of Lebanon, yet it did nothing to dispose of the nitrate at the port for 3 years under Joseph Aoun's watch. All of them means all of them!"

So Very True!

Thumb liberty 03 July 2021, 09:29

مصادر متابعة للتحقيق تؤكد لـ"الأخبار" أنّ المحقق العدلي ادّعى على كل شخص ثبت أنّه تلقّى مستنداً بشأن وجود نيترات الأمونيوم في العنبر الرقم 12 في مرفأ بيروت، ولم يقم بأيّ إجراء فعلي للحؤول دون حصول الانفجار.

https://www.lebanon24.com/news/lebanon/839147/جولة-الصباح-الاخبارية-بيطار-يفجر-المفاجأة-وترقب-لر

Aoun admitted publicly he was made aware of the explosive material in writing so did Joseph Aoun. So why are they excluded?

Thumb i.report 02 July 2021, 23:34

You nailed it justice. Michel Aoun, Joseph Aoun should be out on the stand. They were warned exactly like Hassan Diab.

Thumb warrior 03 July 2021, 07:22

Saliba or Joseph Aoun, they sacrificed Saliba. Get it?

Default-user-icon Hussein (Guest) 03 July 2021, 10:49

Start with Hariri, Mikati, Sanyora, Tammam, and all that were present in those governments .

Thumb lubnani.masi7i 02 July 2021, 18:28

Here is the people's verdict:

Since the arrival of the nitrate in Lebanon, every head of security ( army commander, ISF, state and internal security), every judge who was involved, every minister of interior, every minister of defense, every prime minister, and every president are guilty of negligence and accessory to murder. To pick and choose as @justice mentioned above is but a politically driven decision.

Thumb janoubi 02 July 2021, 18:48

بالفيديو: متظاهرون يطالبون باستقالة عون: «يلا ارحل.. شبعنا جوع.. شبعنا ذل»!

https://janoubia.com/2021/07/02/بالفيديو-متظاهرون-يطالبون-باستقالة-ع/