Relatives of Aug. 4, 2020 blast gather near the Beirut port under the Statue of the Emigrant on Dec. 4, 2022. (Credit: Lyana Alameddine/OLJ)
BEIRUT — Several dozen relatives of the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port blast gathered on Sunday near the port, under the Statue of the Emigrant, to demand a resumption of the investigation into the tragedy, which has been stalled for months.
Meanwhile, a second group of victims' relatives, which split from the main group and is led by Ibrahim Hoteit, whose brother was killed in the explosion, gathered a few hundred meters away to reaffirm their opposition to lead blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar.
Holding photos of their loved ones, the families called on "the MPs of the Forces of Change as well as those who support their cause to stand by their side so that justice is done."
Investigation at a standstill
Mona Jawish, whose daughter Rawan died at her workplace in Gemmayzeh, deplored the fact that "the investigation is at a standstill."
"We will not stop going to the streets to remind people of what happened on Aug. 4, 2020," Jawish said. "It is difficult for us to be the only ones to demand the truth," she told our reporter.
The father of Jawad Chaaya, who was also killed in the explosion, said, "The investigation is at a standstill and the mafia is protecting the criminals," referring to alleged political interference in the investigation. He also said that many families of victims were unable to attend Sunday's sit-in due to soaring fuel prices in crisis-hit Lebanon.
Hiyam al-Bikai, who lost her son in the blast, denounced the disruption of the investigation over the past "two years and four months."
"The culprits are part of the ruling class, including former Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk, former Public Works Minister Youssef Fenianos, and MPs Ghazi Zeaiter and Ali Hassan Khalil." she said, adding, "I will continue to protest so that one day the gallows will be installed."
The campaign against Bitar
The group led by Hoteit, a fierce opponent of Judge Bitar, gathered a few hundred meters from the Statue of the Emigrant near port gate No. 3.
Hoteit said that his group "continues its campaign against the judge because he did not summon the judge of summary proceedings, Jad Maalouf, or the army's former commander in chief, Jean Kahwaji," who were informed of the tons of ammonium nitrate stored at the port ahead of its explosion on Aug. 4, 2020.
"They are the ones who should bear the greatest responsibility for the tragedy," he said.
A group of victims' relatives, led by Ibrahim Hoteit, gather near gate No. 3 at the Beirut port on Dec. 4, 2022. (Credit: Lyana Alameddine /OLJ)
More than two years after the tragedy, the investigation has been blocked by multiple political maneuvers and is currently suspended due to various complaints filed against Judge Bitar, including complaints filed by Zeaiter, Khalil and Fenianos, all of whom are being prosecuted in the investigation.
Despite being under suspicion, Zeaiter and Khalil were re-elected to Parliament in May 2022. Caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, who is close to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, has also been accused of obstructing the investigation by not signing judicial appointments that have been blocked for several months.
In early September, the Higher Judicial Council decided to appoint a substitute investigating judge in the investigation into the explosion. However, some victims' families have insisted that Bitar is "the master of his case" and asserted that "with such a bold and impartial judge, the truth will not be lost."
The 2020 explosion killed more than 220 people, injured 6,50o others and destroyed entire neighborhoods of the Lebanese capital.
Additional reporting by Lyana Alameddine
