Lebanese Judge Ghassan Oueidat (left) during his swearing-in ceremony before former Lebanese President Michel Aoun at the presidential palace of Baabda, east of the capital on Sept. 17, 2019. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — Lebanon's top prosecutor on Tuesday told Judge Tarek Bitar that his probe into the Beirut port blast remains suspended, according to correspondence seen by Reuters, a day after Bitar unexpectedly resumed his investigation.
The probe had been halted for more than a year until Monday, when Bitar filed charges against senior officials including public prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat following a legal opinion that said he should be allowed to continue investigating.
Meanwhile, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Monday during a press conference: "We in the international community have made it clear since the explosion that we support and urge Lebanese authorities to complete a swift and transparent investigation into the horrific explosion at the Port of Beirut."
"The victims of this explosion in August of 2020 deserve justice. Those responsible must be held accountable," added Price.
The 2020 blast was caused by hundreds of tons of ammonium nitrate that had been stored at the port in poor conditions since being unloaded in 2013. So far, no senior official has been held to account.