Wanted former Minister Fenianos cries foul in Beirut port explosion probe

BEIRUT – Wanted former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos has claimed that he is the victim of “great injustice” in the Beirut port explosion probe, , the NNA reports, a day after an arrest warrant was issued for him after he failed to show up for questioning in relation to the case.

Here’s what we know:

    • Fenianos accused the probe’s lead investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, of rushing through legal procedures and claimed that the judge could not prosecute him without a decision issued by the Court of Appeals in the north. Bitar “wanted to start questioning me immediately, without giving me any time to take a position on the decision [or] to make formal defenses,” a statement from Fenianos claimed.

    • Fenianos has been charged with alleged criminal negligence in relation to the explosion, which killed at least 218 people and wounded thousands more. He hasn’t directly responded to the allegations publicly.

    • However, like other politicians, Fenianos has repeatedly postponed previous hearings scheduled by Bitar. Lawyers for Fenianos, whose last hearing had initially been postponed from Sept. 6, had presented two formal appeals maintaining that Bitar lacked the authority to interrogate the former minister, arguing that the power to prosecute him falls under the Court of Justice’s jurisdiction.

    • Fenianos’ political benefactor, Sleiman Frangieh, has vowed to defend him. “We affirm that we will stand by his side in his defense,” Frangieh said in a tweet on Thursday. However, Fenianos maintained that he was not protected by any political parties. “The only protection I enjoy is the protection provided by the law,” Fenianos said.

    • The former minister has never been arrested. However, the Tripoli Bar Association lifted Fenianos’ legal immunity as an attorney in July, his only remaining protection. Judicial sources said Fenianos is unlikely to be brought into custody even after the arrest warrant was issued.

    • Bitar has been trying to move forward with the Beirut explosion investigation, which has stalled for more than a year. This is in large part due to the various immunities enjoyed by many public officials, which have hindered the judge’s efforts to question them or otherwise hold them accountable.