Lebanese Demonstrators Protest Delay of Probe Into Beirut Port Blast

Lebanese demonstrators, including families of the victims of the 2020 Beirut port explosion, gathered outside Lebanon’s Justice Palace to protest the prosecutor general’s hindering of the probe into the blast with his charges against the judge investigating the tragedy. Judge Tarek Bitar, who was forced to stop the investigation some 13 months ago after politicians that he placed under investigation filed complaints against him, had returned to work on Monday and charged eight individuals, including government officials, with guilt in the blast, which left more than 220 people dead and damaged much of Lebanon’s capital city. Bitar began working again after he issued a legal interpretation that allows him to continue the investigation despite the complaints against him. But on Wednesday Prosecutor General Ghassan Oweidat charged Bitar with mishandling the investigation and overstepping. He also issued a travel ban against Bitar and a decision saying the judge did not have the authority to resume his investigation. Oweidat was one of the people Bitar charged this week with involvement in the explosion. Some of the protesters on Thursday tried to break into the justice building, as they demanded that Bitar be allowed to continue with his investigation. Lebanon’s Supreme Judicial Council was set to meet in the building on Thursday to discuss the investigation. Last week, 12 relatives of port blast victims were detained on charges of rioting, vandalism and damaging government offices following a violent protest inside the Justice Ministry in Beirut calling for accountability in the explosion.