Beirut: Accusations against the Attorney General for the big explosion of 2020 in the port

The judge who investigates the great explosionwhich was noted in 2020 at the port of Beiruthe recited charges against Lebanon’s attorney general and others three judges in relation to this catastrophic explosion, judicial officials announced today.

Judge Tarek Bitar, who unexpectedly restarted the investigation that had been paralyzed for more than a year due to reactions at a high political level, has planned to question Prosecutor General Ghassan Ouedat this month, the officials said, without specifying the charges against him.

Ouedat could not be reached for comment.

Bitar’s efforts to interrogate top officials about the explosion, which claimed the lives of 220 people and destroyed part of Beirut, were blocked by factions including the armed Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran.

Bitar also indicted Lt. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon’s interior intelligence service, and Lt. Gen. Tony Saliba, head of another security force, in connection with the blast, as well as former military commander Jean Kahouaji, judges said. officials, without specifying the charges.

Judicial imgs said 15 people were scheduled to be questioned in February, including top security officials, Ouedat, two former ministers and Hassan Diab, who was prime minister. when the explosion had occurred.

Ibrahim declined to comment on reports of charges being brought against him when contacted by Reuters on Monday. Kahuaji declined to comment. Saliba could not be contacted.

The explosion, which occurred on August 4, 2020, was caused by hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate which were stored in poor conditions at the port after being unloaded there in 2013. So far, as APE-MPE notes, no high-ranking official has been held accountable.

The prosecution rejects the judge’s decisions

THE prosecution of Lebanon rejected all decisions today of the judge in charge of the investigation into the big explosion, informing him that he cannot resume his investigation and that it remains suspended.