BEIRUT — A spokesperson for the families of the victims of the August 4 port explosion William Noun said Monday, right after a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Mikati, that he “promised us that the silos at the port of Beirut will not be destroyed as long as he is in office,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
Here’s what we know:
• “We have called for a study concerning the reconstruction of the silos,” Noun who’s a brother of a firefighter who died in the explosion, said.
• Mikati’s government less than a month ago, instructed the Council for Development and Reconstruction to destroy the silos in the port of Beirut.
• According to Noun, Mikati also discussed with the families of the victims the matter of signing a draft decree of judicial appointments necessary for the resumption of the port investigation. Mikati "promised to address the issue of judicial appointments during the Council of Ministers on Thursday," said Celine Roukoz, who also lost a loved one in the explosion.
• MPs and former ministers Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zeaiter, both of whom are being prosecuted as part of the investigation, filed complaints against Beirut port probe head, Judge Tarek Bitar, and Judge Naji Eid, who is responsible for examining an appeal brought against Bitar.
• The complaints brought against Bitar have effectively stalled the probe into the blast.
• Noun also accused Finance Minister Youssef Khalil who has so far refrained from signing a confessional distribution plan that appoints six of the 10 heads of chambers of the Court of Cassation, which make up the court’s plenary assembly of “illegal behavior,”which is competent to be able to rule on complaints filed against Bitar.