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Burnt tires, threats of escalation during sit-in to demand justice for Aug. 4 victims

Burnt tires, threats of escalation during sit-in to demand justice for Aug. 4 victims

Relatives of victims hold portraits in front of burning tires, Beirut, June 1, 2023. (Credit: Mario Doueiry/L'Orient-Le Jour)

BEIRUT — Dozens of relatives of the people killed in the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion demonstrated in front of the city's Justice Palace Thursday.  The demonstrators burned tires as they demanded justice for the tragedy that claimed the lives of more than 200 people. The protesters said they were ready to organize similar demonstrations every Thursday and to escalate those protests if necessary.

The victims' relatives criticize the lack of progress in the investigation into the blast, which is being led by Judge Tarek Bitar. The probe remains obstructed by political interference and tensions within the judiciary.

Present at Thursday's demonstration, Zeina Noun, mother of Joe Noun, a firefighter killed in the blast, told L'Orient-Le Jour that a sit-in will be organized every week "until justice is done." William Noun, the firefighter's brother, stressed that this mobilization aims to "ask whether Judge Bitar's situation is legal or not."

"If it isn't, he should be suspended" so that the case can take its course with another magistrate, William Noun said.

The investigation has repeatedly been suspended, with the most recent suspension in effect since February after Bitar was accused of usurpation by Public Prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat. Oueidat's accusation came after Bitar asserted his position and announced the resumption of the probe in January, following more than a year's standstill. In resuming the investigation, Bitar had, among other things, launched proceedings against Oueidat.

During the demonstration on Thursday, a brief altercation took place between protesters and a lawyer who wanted to enter the Justice Palace via the main entrance, which was blocked by the protesters. "All lawyers should show solidarity with our cause," said Cécile Roukoz, who lost her brother in the explosion and is herself a lawyer.

William Noun stokes a fire outside the Beirut Justice Palace. Credit: Mario Doueiry/L'Orient-Le Jour)

Activist Lina Boubess, who is close to the victims' relatives, said that the port case is "a national issue."

"All Lebanese should gather in front of the Justice Palace to demand justice," she said.

While the sit-in proceeded peacefully, several demonstrators burned tires in front of the Justice Palace gates "to send the message that we're still waiting for answers to our questions," William Noun said.

"This is how our loved ones burned" on Aug. 4, 2020, shouted another demonstrator standing in front of the blaze.

While police officers were deployed around the burning tires with fire extinguishers, a fire truck from the Beirut fire station attended the scene. The team responsible for extinguishing the fire that had broken out in a port hangar on Aug. 4, 2020, before the explosion had left from the same fire station — all of its members were killed by the blast. "They brought in their colleagues to put out the tires, they're really cruel," said Nancy Noun, William and Joe's sister, while her mother sobbed beside her.

Faced with the justice system's inertia, the victims' relatives expressed disappointment that their peaceful protests have "so far led nowhere."

"We're going to escalate, and this is just the beginning," said the father of Ahmad Kaadan, one of the Aug. 4 victims.

BEIRUT — Dozens of relatives of the people killed in the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosion demonstrated in front of the city's Justice Palace Thursday.  The demonstrators burned tires as they demanded justice for the tragedy that claimed the lives of more than 200 people. The protesters said they were ready to organize similar demonstrations every Thursday and to escalate those protests...