Judge Tareq Bitar was forced to suspend, for the fourth time, the investigation into the explosion in the port of Beirut.
The judge in charge of the investigation into the explosion at the port of Beirut in August 2020 was forced on Thursday to once again suspend his investigations following an umpteenth appeal filed by former ministers, a judicial source told AFP.
This is the fourth suspension since Judge Tareq Bitar was chosen to lead the investigation in February. This decision comes only two weeks after the resumption of the investigation.
Thursday, “Judge Bitar was informed of an appeal presented by former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter. He was therefore forced to suspend the investigation,” said the judicial source.
The politicians involved have lodged a total of 18 complaints against Judge Bitar for obstructing the investigation, forcing him to suspend his investigations on several occasions.
Nearly 6,500 injured
The magistrate is under intense pressure, in particular from the powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah, who accuses him of politicizing the investigation into this gigantic explosion which left more than 215 dead and nearly 6,500 injured. The Shiite movement demands its replacement.
The case paralyzes the government, which has not met since October 12 due to demands from Hezbollah ministers.
Politicians of all stripes refuse to be questioned by the judge, even though the authorities blamed the tragedy, which destroyed entire neighborhoods of Beirut, on the storage without precautionary measures of huge quantities of ammonium nitrate.
Some fear that the magistrate will meet the same fate as his predecessor, Fadi Sawan, dismissed in February after the indictment of senior officials.
Blamed for criminal negligence, the authorities are accused by the families of the victims and NGOs of torpedoing the investigation to avoid charges.
Any reproduction prohibited