View of the silos at the Port of Beirut. (Credit: Mohammad Yassin/L'Orient Le-Jour)
The lead investigating judge at the Court of Justice, Tarek Bitar, who is overseeing the case of the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosions, made a breakthrough on Friday after nearly three years of deadlock. His investigation had been stalled by repeated abusive appeals from political figures implicated in the case, aimed at stripping him of his authority since his appointment in 2021.In January 2023, former prosecutor Ghassan Oweidat accused Bitar of usurping power after his decision to refuse to submit to these appeals. Bitar had based his stance on a legal precedent stating that an investigating judge at the Court of Justice can only be removed by ministerial, not judicial, means. With the judicial police barred from assisting him — following a directive from Oweidat prohibiting cooperation — Bitar turned to civil bailiffs to serve...
The lead investigating judge at the Court of Justice, Tarek Bitar, who is overseeing the case of the Aug. 4, 2020, Beirut port explosions, made a breakthrough on Friday after nearly three years of deadlock. His investigation had been stalled by repeated abusive appeals from political figures implicated in the case, aimed at stripping him of his authority since his appointment in 2021.In January 2023, former prosecutor Ghassan Oweidat accused Bitar of usurping power after his decision to refuse to submit to these appeals. Bitar had based his stance on a legal precedent stating that an investigating judge at the Court of Justice can only be removed by ministerial, not judicial, means. With the judicial police barred from assisting him — following a directive from Oweidat prohibiting cooperation — Bitar turned to civil bailiffs to...
