Relatives of the victims of the Aug. 4, 2020 explosion opposite the port, Dec. 4, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient-le-Jour)
The families of the victims of the deadly Aug. 4, 2020, explosion at the Port of Beirut resumed their sit-in on Wednesday, Dec. 4, under the statue of the Emigrant facing the port. This monthly gathering, held for over four years, had been interrupted in October and November due to the escalation of clashes between Hezbollah and Israel.
For the first time since the disaster, which claimed 235 lives and injured more than 6,500 people, these families did not hold their monthly sit-ins on Friday, Oct. 4, or Monday, Nov. 4. Another group of victims’ relatives, led by Ahmad Hoteit and opposed to Judge Tarek Bitar, also resumed their protests on Wednesday after a similar break.
Earlier in the day, families of the explosion victims planned to protest before the Cabinet session against the reinstatement of Hani Hajj Chehadeh, a former member of the Higher Customs Council who had been arrested as part of the investigation into the tragedy.
However, the discussion of this issue — item 26 on the agenda, among more than 50 items — was ultimately canceled, according to local media reports.
Hajj Chehadeh was arrested in August 2021 by Judge Tarek Bitar after being charged by the Court of Cassation's prosecutor in November 2020. He had previously been summoned by Bitar’s predecessor, Judge Fadi Sawan, who was removed from the case in February 2021. Hajj Chehadeh served as the regional director of customs from 2014 to 2017, during which the ammonium nitrate responsible for the explosion was unloaded at the port. He faced allegations of "serious misconduct" related to his duties.
Hajj Chehadeh remained in custody until January 2023, when the former public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Ghassan Oueidat, released him along with 16 other detainees. This move was part of ongoing efforts to derail Judge Bitar's investigation. These efforts persist, with judicial police instructed not to comply with Bitar's directives at the time of the detainees’ release.
