Najem Proposes Judge Rejected in the Past to Replace Sawwan
Caretaker Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najem on Friday proposed the name of Judge Samer Younes as a replacement to Judge Fadi Sawwan in the port blast probe, after the latter was removed Thursday by the Court of Cassation, TV networks said.
Najem had picked Younes prior to the appointment of Sawwan, but his nomination was rejected by the Higher Judicial Council and a number of political forces.
The journalist Salem Zahran, who is close to Hizbullah, meanwhile tweeted that Younes' nomination will not be accepted by the Higher Judicial Council.
Thursday's decision to remove Sawwan came after legal challenges by former ministers he had accused of negligence that led to the blast, considered one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history.
The Court of Cassation called for a new investigating judge to be appointed to lead the probe, nearly six months after it started.
The move angered families of the victims of the Aug. 4, blast, some of whom took to the streets in angry protests. The families of the victims said Sawwan was removed as a result of political pressure.
The development is likely to further delay the investigation into the horrific explosion that killed 211 people, wounded over 6,000 and damaged much of Beirut. Families of the victims and survivors have accused the ruling political class of corruption and negligence that led to the explosion of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive material used in fertilizers that had been stored in the port for years.
The explosion has been one of the most traumatic national experiences the Lebanese have faced. Family members of those killed are skeptical that any investigation into the explosion can be transparent and independent in a country where a culture of impunity has prevailed for decades.
Sawwan had accused and summoned for questioning caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil, Ghazi Zoaiter and Youssef Fenianos on suspicion of negligence that led to the deadly explosion.
Two of the former ministers challenged Sawwan in court in December, accusing him of violating legal and constitutional procedures and asking that he be recused, a challenge that brought the probe to a halt. Last month, the Court of Cassation had asked Sawwan to resume his work while it looks into the complaints.
A copy of the 25-page decision leaked to the media showed the former ministers had accused Sawwan of disrespecting parliamentary immunity and argued that because his house was impacted by the explosion, he could not be impartial in the case.
Source: Naharnet
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