Former head of General Security Abbas Ibrahim. (Credit: NNA)
BEIRUT – The former director of General Security, Abbas Ibrahim, appeared for a hearing on Friday in Beirut, as part of the investigation into the 2020 Beirut Port Explosion led by judge Tarek Bitar at the Court of Justice. Ibrahim and his lawyer arrived at 9:15 a.m. for the hearing and left the Court at around 11:45 a.m., according to our reporter on the ground.
The hearing went ahead despite reports from several media outlets that Ibrahim had filed a legal complaint against Judge Bitar on Thursday. If confirmed, the move appears aimed at removing Bitar from the Beirut port blast investigation — part of a broader pattern of legal challenges launched by political and security officials implicated in the case. However, it seems unlikely that Judge Bitar will yield to either threats or judicial maneuvers.
Later on Thursday, Jaafari mufti Ahmad Kabalan — a Hezbollah-aligned cleric and close ally of Ibrahim — warned against "political calculations and international interference" in Bitar’s investigation. He also cautioned against "judicial arbitrariness and the politicization of justice." Kabalan’s comments follow repeated attacks by Hezbollah and its ally Amal on the investigation since charges were filed against individuals close to the Shiite parties.
After the Aug. 4, 2020 catastrophe, Hezbollah was singled out by its detractors, who accused it of responsibility for the transport and storage of the ammonium nitrate that caused the deadly explosion. Hezbollah has denied any involvement, and the investigation remains ongoing, with several security and political officials indicted by Bitar, including some linked to Hezbollah.
The judge had filed charges against a series of political, security, and judicial officials in January 2023, but was unable to summon them due to a ban imposed by then-chief public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation, Ghassan Oueidate, who instructed judicial police to stop cooperating with the magistrate.
Since the new head of the prosecutor's office, Jamal Hajjar, reversed Oueidate’s decision on March 10, Bitar has been able to proceed with notifications and hearings, as the judicial police resumed following his instructions.
Despite mounting pressure, Judge Bitar has never backed down — not in the face of legal action, nor threats. Even in September 2021, when Wafic Safa, Hezbollah’s head of security and liaison, stormed the Justice Palace and threatened to “usurp” him, Bitar stood firm. A month later, deadly clashes in Tayouneh and Ain al-Rummaneh between suspected Lebanese Forces supporters and Hezbollah-Amal gunmen returning from an anti-Bitar protest left seven dead and over 30 wounded — yet the judge’s determination remained unshaken.