Beirut blast investigator forced to suspend probe for third time

By AFP 4 November 2021, 5:27 pm

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A protester holds Arabic placards that reads: 'Will not forget, right, down with the system of nitrates,' outside a court building during a demonstration of solidarity with Judge Tarek Bitar who is investigating last year's deadly seaport blast, in Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, September 29, 2021. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

BEIRUT — The Lebanese judge leading investigations into last year’s Beirut port blast is forced to stop work over a lawsuit filed by an ex-minister he had summoned for interrogation.

Tarek Bitar was informed of a “lawsuit submitted by former public works minister Youssef Fenianos… which forced him to pause the probe until a ruling is issued,” a court official tells AFP on condition of anonymity.

It is the third time that Bitar has had to suspend his probe in the face of lawsuits filed by former ministers suspected of negligence over the August 2020 explosion. The total number of lawsuits filed against Bitar now stands at 15, according to judicial sources.

The latest comes amid a campaign led by Hezbollah demanding Bitar’s replacement over allegations of “bias” that have been widely dismissed by rights groups and families of blast victims.

The Shi’ite group’s representatives in government have said they will boycott cabinet meetings until it takes a clear stand on demands to replace Bitar. The cabinet, as a result, has failed to hold a single session in three weeks.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati offers a thinly veiled criticism of Hezbollah and condemns attempts to force his government to intervene in judicial affairs.

“We have tried as much as possible to keep the Beirut blast probe under the purview of the judiciary and we have rejected any kind of [political] interference,” Mikati tells a news conference.