Amnesty International, HRW call for an unimpeded investigation

Lebanese authorities have still not delivered justice to the victims of the deadly Beirut Port explosion, five years after the event, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said Monday in a joint statement.

"Lebanese authorities have still not delivered truth and justice to the victims and their families," the two NGOs wrote, calling the explosion on Aug. 4, 2020, which killed at least 235 people, injured more than 6,000, and devastated much of the capital, "devastating." They called on "Lebanese authorities to ensure a thorough and unimpeded investigation."

"It is imperative that this investigation thoroughly establishes the facts and circumstances of the explosion, covers the entire chain of responsibility, whether national or international, and determines whether criminal acts or human rights violations were committed due to the state’s failure to protect lives," they added.

"Despite repeated calls, both nationally and internationally ... Lebanese authorities have not conducted an effective, independent and impartial investigation into the explosion," the two organizations said. The resumption of the national investigation in 2025, after a two-year suspension, has still not produced conclusive results. According to Amnesty and HRW, "the investigation has been marred by persistent obstruction and interference by political leaders and state officials determined to evade justice."

"For families of the victims, this prolonged refusal to provide accountability is an unbearable burden," they added.

"Justice delayed is justice denied," said Reina Wehbi, Amnesty International’s campaigner for Lebanon. "The families of those killed and injured in the Beirut explosion have been waiting for five unbearable years. They must not be forced to endure yet another year of impunity. The time to deliver justice, shed light and demand accountability is now."

According to HRW and Amnesty International, "rather than facilitating the investigation, several political leaders and senior officials summoned by lead investigating judge Tarek Bitar — including generals, judges, MPs and former ministers — have consistently sought to derail the proceedings."

"They have refused to attend interrogation sessions, invoking various forms of immunity, and have filed a series of legal challenges against Judge Bitar, repeatedly halting the investigation," they stated.

The organizations noted that in January 2023, "the then attorney general, Ghassan Oueidat, who had himself been charged by Judge Bitar —filed a complaint against Bitar, effectively suspending the investigation." Judge Oueidat also "ordered the release of suspects who had been held in pretrial detention since the explosion" and "instructed security forces and the public prosecutor’s office to cease all cooperation with the judge."

After a two-year interruption, the investigating judge resumed his work in February 2025, "amid renewed political promises" by President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, "aimed at upholding the rule of law and guaranteeing justice to the victims."

This resumption was made possible by "the lifting of measures imposed by the previous attorney general that had frozen the investigation," Amnesty International and HRW explained. Some summoned officials, "such as former Prime Minister Hassan Diab, Abbas Ibrahim and Tony Saliba, have complied with the process and appeared for the first time in years." Conversely, "other officials, including two MPs, Ali Hassan Khalil and Ghazi Zaiter, as well as Ghassan Oueidat, continue to obstruct the investigation by refusing to submit to questioning."

"Despite the resumption of the investigation, the path to justice remains strewn with political and legal obstacles," Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch added. Lebanese authorities must promptly remove the barriers that have repeatedly blocked the investigation and ensure that it can proceed without political interference.

They also noted that a 2021 investigation by Human Rights Watch "concluded that the explosion was the direct result of Lebanese authorities' failure to respect their human rights obligations, including the right to life, and pointed to possible involvement of senior officials."

"Justice for the Beirut Port explosion is not only about accountability for a single event," said Ramzi Kaiss, Lebanon researcher at Human Rights Watch. "It is a test of Lebanon’s professed commitment to the rule of law and human rights."