Prosecutor Orders Arrest of Lawmaker Over Beirut Port Blast

Lebanon’s public prosecutor has ordered the arrest of ex-Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, a member of the Lebanese Parliament who is an ally of Hizbullah, over the investigation into last year’s Beirut Port explosion, according to reports citing unnamed judicial sources. Investigating judge Tarek Bitar first issued a warrant for Khalil’s arrest on October 12 after he failed to show up for a scheduled interrogation.

The Lebanese government is continuing to investigate what triggered the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion that left more than 200 people dead and some 6,000 people injured. The massive explosion that devastated the capital and left some 300,000 people homeless was caused by a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate stored in a warehouse at the port in unsafe conditions.

Khalil is one of several current and former senior politicians and security officials charged in connection with the explosion. Those charged in the explosion claim Bitar is biased and does not have the authority to charge them, and have called for his removal from the case.

The warrant calls for Khalil to be arrested after January 1, 2022, when parliament is out of session, since the Lebanese constitution does not allow lawmakers to be arrested while the legislature is in session.