Jean Kahwaji, a former Lebanese Army head. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT — Jean Kahwaji, a former Lebanese Army head, has rejected a claim by his lawyer that ammonium nitrate that reportedly did not blow up during the Beirut port explosion and had apparently gone missing was smuggled to Syria.
Here’s what we know:
• Antoine Toubia, the lawyer, also suggested that Hezbollah “may have been involved” in the incident. Toubia did not provide evidence for his claims, which he made while leaving the Justice Palace, where he had gone to submit a procedural motion on Kahwaji’s behalf.
• Kahwaji denounced his lawyer’s comments soon after, calling them Toubia’s “personal analysis” and saying the accusations “do not represent” him.
• An FBI report on the Aug. 4 Beirut port blast that was seen by Reuters reportedly concluded that only about a fifth of the quantity of ammonium nitrate unloaded in the port had exploded. According to Reuters, the report does not give information on where the rest of the shipment may have gone.
• On July 2, the lead investigator into the blast, Judge Tarek Bitar, had requested permission to prosecute top security officials, including Kahwaji, and called for legal immunity to be lifted from three sitting MPs.
• “The army has absolutely nothing to do with and no responsibility for the port issue,” the lawyer added.