A view of the port on the day of the explosion on Aug. 4, 2020. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)
The first phase of hearings initiated on Feb. 7 by Judge of Instruction at the Court of Justice, Tarek Bitar, concluded on Friday with the interrogation of a former General Security officer, Mohammad Hassan Moukalled, who was stationed at the Beirut port when the explosion occurred on Aug. 4, 2020. The next step, which is the most sensitive, involves summoning top security officials, magistrates and politicians.Bitar's investigations were obstructed since January 2023 when the former head of the prosecutor's office, Ghassan Oueidat, prohibited the judicial police from acknowledging summonses, arrest warrants and other documents related to the investigation proceedings. These obstacles were lifted last Monday by the interim successor to Oueidat, Jamal Hajjar. However, as early as last January, Bitar decided to break the deadlock...
The first phase of hearings initiated on Feb. 7 by Judge of Instruction at the Court of Justice, Tarek Bitar, concluded on Friday with the interrogation of a former General Security officer, Mohammad Hassan Moukalled, who was stationed at the Beirut port when the explosion occurred on Aug. 4, 2020. The next step, which is the most sensitive, involves summoning top security officials, magistrates and politicians.Bitar's investigations were obstructed since January 2023 when the former head of the prosecutor's office, Ghassan Oueidat, prohibited the judicial police from acknowledging summonses, arrest warrants and other documents related to the investigation proceedings. These obstacles were lifted last Monday by the interim successor to Oueidat, Jamal Hajjar. However, as early as last January, Bitar decided to break the deadlock...