
A worker sitting amidst the debris at the port of Beirut, June 27, 2024. (Credit: Mohammad Yassine/Archives L'Orient-Le Jour)
Faced with a two-year ban imposed by the Court of Cassation’s prosecutor on the judicial police from collaborating with Tarek Bitar, the lead investigative judge at the Court of Justice, in the probe into the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosions, the judge has decided to issue summonses through civil bailiffs starting midweek, according to a source informed on the matter who spoke to L’Orient-Le Jour.
The prosecutor's obstruction dates back to Jan. 2023, when former prosecutor general Ghassan Oueidate barred the police from receiving or delivering arrest warrants and notifications issued by Bitar and from transmitting documents related to the case. This move came in response to charges filed against Oueidate by Bitar as part of the investigation. In retaliation, Oueidate released 17 detainees held by Bitar and launched legal proceedings against the judge for “usurping authority.”
After Jamal Hajjar assumed the role of prosecutor general in February 2024, following Oueidate’s retirement, Bitar sought to have the ban lifted. However, Hajjar conditioned his cooperation on splitting the case, limiting Bitar’s authority to public officials allegedly implicated, excluding political figures. According to a lawyer familiar with the case, Bitar was even urged to exclude officers and magistrates. Nonetheless, Bitar rejected any proposal compromising the case's unity.
Last summer, the complaints bureau of the Beirut Bar Association also urged Hajjar to lift the ban, but the prosecutor did not act on the request.
With the deadlock now in its second year, Bitar appears to have turned to civil bailiffs as a workaround. “The investigative judge is determined to continue his work without concessions,” the lawyer stated, emphasizing that “civil notifications are legal, even in criminal cases.”
Bitar is reportedly drafting a list of hearings to prioritize, but what happens if those summoned refuse to appear? Should bailiffs fail to deliver notifications directly, notices will be posted publicly, including at the individuals’ last known residences and the Justice Palace, according to a magistrate who requested anonymity. “This will fulfill Judge Bitar’s obligations, allowing him to move forward with the investigation and issue his indictment,” the magistrate added.
As for the detainees released by the prosecutor in 2023, the magistrate explained, “The investigative judge wouldn’t need to summon them since, legally, they remain under judicial authority and should be re-incarcerated. Responsibility for their detention lies with the prosecutor.”
Will the boycott end?
By law, Bitar cannot publish his indictment without first submitting it to the prosecutor’s office for review. The question remains whether the prosecutor will continue boycotting documents issued by Bitar or accept the indictment, implicitly acknowledging that Bitar did not overstep his authority, as alleged by Oueidate.
Nearly four years into handling this sensitive case, which both victims’ families and the Lebanese public await closure on, Bitar has refused to step aside. This resilience comes despite numerous legal challenges from implicated officials, threats made by Hezbollah’s security chief Wafic Safa at the Beirut Justice Palace in Sept. 2021, and the Tayouneh clashes in October 2021 between armed Hezbollah supporters and residents of Ain al-Remmaneh. “The investigative judge has remained steadfast in pursuing the case, undeterred by political pressures or security threats,” the lawyer affirmed.