A crowd of protesters trying to enter inside the Beirut courthouse on Jan. 10, 2023, during a demonstration of the relatives of the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — William Noun and Peter Bou Saab, brothers of Joe Noun and Joe Bou Saab, who were members of the Fire Brigade team killed by Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion, along with Bou Saab’s father, have been summoned for questioning Thursday by the Beirut judiciary police, Noun told L'Orient Today Wednesday. They were reportedly taken on charges of rioting, vandalism and breaking offices in the Justice Palace.
“I was summoned a the request of the Public Prosecution office and I’m proud I’m being summoned for vandalizing the Justice Palace that is not doing its job,” he told L’Orient Today.
On Tuesday, families of the victims of the port explosion had a confrontation with security forces as they were attempting to enter the Justice Palace by force, demanding progress in the stalled investigation.
Videos published on Twitter show Noun, along with other protesters, throwing rocks at the windows of the Justice Palace.
"What we are witnessing is a second crime," Forces of Change MP Halimé El Kaakour, who was at the protest, told L'Orient Today. "This second crime is the stopping of the investigation, with clear political motivations," she said, criticizing caretaker Finance Minister Youssef Khalil for not yet signing the judicial appointments necessary to advance the investigation, which have been blocked for several months.
The victims' relatives regularly protest against the lack of progress in the investigation and obstruction operated by politicians from all sides.
In March, Noun was summoned for questioning in relation to spray-painting the justice minister’s house entrance. And in 2021, he was briefly arrested during a protest in front of the house of the caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati.