Former Lebanese PM Files Suit Over Beirut Port Explosion Prosecution

Lebanon’s former prime minister, Hassan Diab, who resigned following the Beirut port explosion, has filed a lawsuit against the state, over his prosecution in the case by Judge Tarek Bitar, who is investigating the case. Diab, who is charged with negligence, filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, a day before he was scheduled to be interrogated by the judge, Reuters reported, citing a local television station. He reportedly has already missed two scheduled interrogation sessions.

More than 200 people were killed and some 6,000 people injured in the Aug. 4, 2020 blast, which was caused by a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port in unsafe conditions. The explosion also devastated the capital and left some 300,000 people homeless.

Bitar has been accused of bias by three former cabinet ministers, who have called for his removal from the case.