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PORT INVESTIGATION

Tripoli Bar lifts immunity for former Minister Youssef Fenianos in Beirut blast case

Tripoli Bar lifts immunity for former Minister Youssef Fenianos in Beirut blast case

Then-Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos (right front) visits Beirut port in March 2019. (Credit: Dalati & Nohra)

BEIRUT — The Tripoli Bar Association on Thursday lifted former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos’ immunity as a lawyer with regard to the Beirut port explosion investigation, state media reported, following a similar move the day prior by the Beirut Bar Association in relation to MPs Ali Hassan Khalil (Amal/Marjayoun-Hasbaya) and Ghazi Zeaiter (Amal/Baalbeck-Hermel).

Here’s what we know:

    • The investigative judge in the port case requested permission earlier this month to prosecute Fenianos along with a raft of other high-ranking officials.

    • Fenianos was public works minister from 2016 till last year, while ammonium nitrate was improperly stored at Beirut’s port, leading to a massive explosion on Aug. 4, 2020. The government he was part of fell six days later.

    • Lawyers in Lebanon are protected from prosecution, which must be approved by either the Beirut Bar Association or its counterpart in Tripoli.

    • The Tripoli Bar’s move removes the only barrier keeping Fenianos from judicial scrutiny in the case.

    • It follows a similar move yesterday by the Beirut Bar in relation to Khalil and Zeaiter, both lawyers and former ministers. But as sitting MPs, both have constitutional immunity from prosecution.

    • Pressure has mounted on officials to show some progress in the blast investigation as the anniversary, next Wednesday, approaches. To date, no one has been held accountable for the explosion that killed over 200, wounded thousands and ravages entire neighborhoods of the capital.

BEIRUT — The Tripoli Bar Association on Thursday lifted former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos’ immunity as a lawyer with regard to the Beirut port explosion investigation, state media reported, following a similar move the day prior by the Beirut Bar Association in relation to MPs Ali Hassan Khalil (Amal/Marjayoun-Hasbaya) and Ghazi Zeaiter (Amal/Baalbeck-Hermel).Here’s what we...