CHARGES IMMINENT IN BEIRUT PORT BLAST INVESTIGATION
▶ Authorities say they are pressing ahead despite the best efforts of the political elite
Authorities in Lebanon are only weeks away from charging people in connection with the Beirut port explosion, despite efforts by the political elite to derail the investigation.
“We have to finish working on some technical points, and then we’ll be on the safe side,” a judicial source told The National as the country marked nine months since the blast happened. “We don’t want to destroy the investigation. It happened before. We want this investigation to go to the end.”
More than 200 people died in the explosion, which also destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
The source declined to say whether politicians were among those to be charged. In December, three former ministers and caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab were charged with negligence.
In February, the judge in charge of the investigation was sacked after a request by two of the ministers.
Fadi Sawan was replaced by Tarek Bitar, 46, who leads Beirut’s criminal court. Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, told The National “the example that was set with Fadi Sawan’s removal is not positive at all”.
“It shows there are very clear red lines in the investigation that judges cannot bypass,” she said. “As time drags on, the Lebanese are losing faith that any credible investigation can be conducted.”
Since taking over the investigation, Mr Bitar has issued 13 requests to obtain images of the port from countries who have satellites over Lebanon, the country’s National News Agency reported.
It said that new witnesses were also set to appear in front of the judge.
Reports that a Syrian businessman had been involved in buying the ammonium nitrate that exploded further complicated the investigation.
Syria, which occupied Lebanon for 29 years until 2005, retains strong influence in the country through local allies.
Lebanese investigators working to uncover who bears responsibility for a deadly explosion at Beirut’s port last August are determined to press ahead, a judicial source told The National yesterday.
This is despite political interference that derailed the investigation earlier this year.
The source said that suspects would be called in for questioning and charged in a matter of weeks, but that investigators were proceeding with caution.
“We have to finish working on some technical points, and then we’ll be on the safe side,” they said.
“We don’t want to destroy the investigation. It happened before. We want this investigation to go to the end.”
In February, the judge appointed to investigate the blast, Fadi Sawan, 60, was removed after a request was filed by two former ministers he indicted in December.
Mr Sawan charged caretaker prime minister Hassan Diab, former finance minister Ali Hassan Khalil and former ministers of public works Youssef Fenianos and Ghazi Zeaiter with negligence. They refused to attend questioning.
Mr Zeaiter and Mr Khalil wrote to the Court of Cassation, claiming that Mr Sawan was neither neutral nor objective.
He was replaced by Tarek Bitar, 46, who led Beirut’s Criminal Court.
The investigation divided Lebanese politicians, especially after media reports revealed that in 2013 Syrian businessmen had a role in buying the ammonium nitrate that ignited to cause the deadly blast.
Syria, which occupied Lebanon for 29 years until 2005, retains a strong influence in the country through local allies.
Victims told the media over the past nine months that they feared they may never receive justice.
“The example that was set with Sawan’s removal is not positive at all. It shows that there are very clear red lines in the investigation that judges cannot bypass,” Aya Majzoub, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch, told The National.
“There is nothing preventing politicians from filing a similar complaint against Tarek Bitar at the Court of Cassation.
“As time drags on, the Lebanese are losing faith that any credible investigation can be conducted.”
On August 4 last year a large quantity of ammonium nitrate exploded, killing more than 200 people, destroying tens of thousands of homes and causing $350 million in damage, according to a World Bank estimate.
Top officials said the explosion was caused by years of unsafe storage of thousands of tonnes of ammonium nitrate.
Politicians have since traded accusations over who should have been responsible for removing the chemicals.
The explosion, which happened one year after the start of the country’s worst economic crisis, amplified public anger towards Lebanon’s political class, which is widely viewed as corrupt.
Mr Diab resigned a few days after the disaster. His successor, prime minister-designate Saad Hariri, has not yet formed a government after months of bickering with President Michel Aoun.
The judicial source declined to tell The National whether politicians were once again among the suspects in the blast investigation.
“All will happen in good time, all suspects will come” when summonsed, they said.
After carrying out questioning, Mr Bitar is expected to issue formal indictments against suspects, who will then be tried by an exceptional court, the Judicial Council.
Its structure breaches international standards because its decisions cannot be appealed, raising fears that suspects will not receive a fair trial, Ms Majzoub said.
Mr Bitar sent 13 requests for judicial assistance to “countries with satellites over Lebanon” to provide pictures of the port, the National News Agency reported yesterday.
He continued hearing from witnesses. Their identities were concealed for safety reasons.
Mr Bitar also recently released six of the 25 middle and low-ranking port employees who were detained in pre-trial custody.
Their families said it was unfair that top decision-makers evaded questioning and remained free while the port employees were jailed.
The release of the six detainees does not mean that they are innocent, the judicial source said, only that their level of potential responsibility in the blast is minimal.
Asked whether a trial would be held this year, the source answered: “I hope so.”
The investigation has divided politicians, especially after reports uncovered the role of Syrian businessmen