[ad_1]
A Lebanese investigating judge charged Acting Prime Minister Hassan Diab and 3 other former ministers of negligence in connection with the Beirut port bombing that killed 200 people and destroyed parts of the capital in August.
Diab, whose government resigned as a result of the explosion after taking power in early 2020, said he was “calm” and accused the judge of violating the constitution.
Diab added in a statement that he is “confident in the cleanliness of his palm and in his responsible and transparent handling of the Beirut port blast file. He is surprised by this goal that goes beyond the person to the site, and will not allow that the prime minister is a target of nowhere. “
Four months after one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in history, affecting thousands of people, victims are still awaiting the results of an investigation that their leaders promised to conduct in the days after the August 4 explosion.
The explosion added to the challenges Lebanon faces, as decades of waste and corruption have caused the worst financial crisis in its history.
And the leaders of the political blocs in Lebanon are still negotiating over the incumbents in the new government.
The official National Media Agency reported Thursday that judicial investigator (examining magistrate) Fadi Sawan summoned Diab and former Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil for an investigation next week, along with former Public Works Ministers Ghazi Zaiter and Youssef Fenianos. .
Divided opinion
Zuaiter told Reuters he would issue a statement when formally informed of the charges against him.
Zuaiter took over the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in 2014, shortly after the arrival of the Roussos ship, which was carrying a huge cargo of ammonium nitrate, which exploded in the port.
Authorities said the cargo of ammonium nitrate, a highly explosive chemical, had been stored insecurely for years at the port in the heart of Beirut.
Fenianos was not immediately available for comment.
Khalil, a senior aide to the speaker of the Lebanese parliament, Nabih Berri, denied any role in the case in his capacity as a former finance minister, the ministry that oversees customs.
He said on his Twitter account that he was surprised by the judge’s accusations, who said they “violated the constitution and the law.”
Judge Sawan sent a letter last month asking Parliament to investigate 10 former ministers.
According to the families of some of the victims, Sawan told them that he sent Berri a memorandum calling for the lifting of the immunity of several ministers and former heads of government, but the speaker did not respond to his request.
As for the Judicial Council that appointed Sawan, it said Thursday that it sent a message last month notifying parliament that its investigation had revealed strong suspicions related to some government officials.
The council added that the parliament’s response indicated that it does not find a basis for those suspicions based on the information provided.
The council added that Sawan decided to question various officials, including ministers, as “defendants,” and that he was carrying out his work to find the perpetrators.
A statement issued by Parliament’s office in November said Berri, in response to a question about the letter, said it had been answered and that what was necessary was done.
This case sparked a legal debate in Lebanon about whether ministers enjoy immunity.
Nizar Saghieh, head of the Legal Agenda, said what happened on Thursday showed that Sawan sided with those who say immunity is invalid.
He added that it is “something positive” and means opening the door to question the ministers.
A senior judicial source said that the matter is in the hands of a special court made up of 7 deputies and 8 judges who would indict the ministers instead of Sawan.
Since the explosion, many officials, including the chiefs of the port and customs, have been arrested, while dozens of people testify as witnesses, including Diab.
Yet many Lebanese remain skeptical about the possibility of holding top political officials to account and fear that the truth will never emerge in a system ravaged by corruption.
According to documents reviewed by Reuters and high-level security sources, security officials had warned Diab and President Michel Aoun that the explosion of the ammonium nitrate shipment could destroy the capital, but Aoun said he had no direct authority. over the port.
[ad_2]
