Lebanese MPs condemn judicial blockage over Beirut port blast probe

Justice Minister Henri Khoury accused of failing to act on pleas to resolve latest stand-off over investigation into deadly 2020 explosion

Opposition MPs in Lebanon condemned the latest blockage of the investigation into the deadly Beirut port blast, with one member telling The National he fears “the state is collapsing”.

Tensions are soaring in Lebanon, which is suffering from one of the worst economic meltdowns in modern history, amid the latest roadblock to justice over the 2020 explosion, which killed more than 215 people, injured thousands and destroyed many parts of Beirut.

On Wednesday, Lebanon's chief prosecutor Ghassan Oueidat ordered the release of all those detained in connection with the blast and filed charges against Tarek Bitar, the judge leading the investigation, in the latest legal tug of war among the country’s deeply politicised judiciary.

Mr Bitar had on Monday resumed the investigation into the port blast after 13 months of delays and legal challenges. He charged a number of officials — including Mr Oueidat, as well as the heads of two of Lebanon’s security agencies, the prime minister at the time of the blast, Hassan Diab, and other judicial officials.

But on Tuesday, he was told by Mr Oueidat that the highly sensitive investigation remained suspended.

On Thursday, opposition MPs — including a bloc of politicians linked to the 2019 protest movement against Lebanon’s ruling elite, as well as members of parties such as the Lebanese Forces and Kataeb — met Justice Minister Henri Khoury in a bid to resolve the impasse.

They met as protesters raged outside against the blockage of the investigation and the wider situation in Lebanon, with much of the country pushed into poverty and facing rising prices, frequent shortages and power cuts.

The same MPs met again in parliament on Friday and condemned the current situation

“Yesterday, we went to see the [justice] minister, and the MPs were requesting that he takes a position on what was happening and not to leave the situation as blurry as it is,” Nadim Gemayel, an MP from Kataeb, told The National.

“We were asking him first to clarify what exactly happened. And the second point was to take action to resolve the problem in the judicial system, because there is a major problem in the judicial system. He wasn't willing to take any decision or to take action in the end."

Another MP, Waddah Sadek, said Lebanon was witnessing an “assassination of justice”.

Mr Sadek on Thursday said he had been assaulted by Mr Khoury's bodyguards after telling him his comments were unacceptable and urging him to resign.

Mr Gemayel, whose father Bachir was assassinated in 1982, weeks after being elected president but before he could take office, said he was fearful that “the state is collapsing” and there was no justice in the country.

“The fact that we're not having justice is ruining Lebanon, day after day. And this is what happened, by not having justice, when they killed Bachir Gemayel, this is what happened when we didn't get justice when they killed [in 2005, Prime Minister] Rafic Hariri,” he said.

Mr Bitar has the backing of many families of the victims but he has also faced severe criticism from his opponents, including some of Lebanon’s most powerful factions. Among those who have called for his dismissal is Hezbollah, which has accused the judge of bias and a proneness to US influence.

The explosion was caused when a huge stock of ammonium nitrate — which had been stored at the port for years — caught fire.

The port blast is regarded as a damning symptom of decades of mismanagement and corruption in Lebanon, which have also been blamed for the devastating economic crisis.